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Columbia,  Conn.  Congregat- 
ional Church 

The  150th  Anniversary 


THE 


150th  anniversary 


OF    THK 


ORaA.NIZ  ATIOlsr 


OF    THE 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 

IN 

COLUMBIA,    CONN., 

OCTOBER  2nh,  18G6. 


m.STOKICAL   PAPEKy,   ADDRESSES, 
WITH  APPENDIX. 


HARTFORD: 
PRINTED  BY  CASE,  LOCKWOOD  &  CO., 

1807. 


THE 


150th  anniversary 


OF   THE 


oiiai^LNiz^Tioisr 


OF  THE 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 


IN 


COLUMBIA,    CONN., 
OCTOBER  24th,  1866. 


HISTORICAL  PAPERS,  ADDRESSES, 
WITH  APPENDIX. 


HARTFORD: 

PRINTED  BY  CASE,  LOCKWOOD  &  CO., 

1867. 


TA.BLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Historical  Discourse,  by  Rev.  F,  D.  Avery,  -  -  5 
Tribute  to  the  memory  of  Rev.  Thomas  Brockway,  by  Doct.  0. 

B.  Lyman,  of  Hartford,  _  _  .  «  28 
Historical  Sketch,  Meeting  Houses,  by  John  S.  Yeomans,          30,  31 

Ministers  from  the  Parish,  by  Rev.  F.  D.  Avery,  -  -  37 
Historical  Sketches, — Education,  Music  and  Miscellaneous,  by 

John  S.  Yeomans,  -  -  -  -  45, 49, 50 

Address,  by  Rev.  Charles  Little  of  Woodbury,                -  55 

Moor's  Indian  Charity  School,  by  Rev.  F.  D.  Avery,  -  58 
Tribute  to  the  Memory  of  Doctor  E.  Wheelock,  founder  of 

Moor's  Charity  School  and  Dartmouth  College,  by  Doct.  0. 

B.  Lyman,  Hartford,        -----  70 

Statements  and  Statistics,  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Moore,  of  Berlin,  72 

Appendix,  --._--  75 
Proceedings,  Order  of  Exercises,  Collation,  &c.,              -          76,  81 

Copy  of  Original  Petition  of  the  people  to  be  set  off  a  Society,  81 
Copy  of  a  Rate  Bill  for  the  North  Parish  of  Lebanon,  (now 

Columbia,)  for  the  year  1741,  to  pay  the  Salary  of  Rev. 

Eleazer  Wheelock,           -            .            -            .            .  83 

Catalogue  of  Present  Members  of  the  Church,                -  86 

Catalogue  of  the  Present  Members  of  the  Society,               -  88 

Table  of  Statistics,  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Moore,  of  Berlin,  -  89 
Letter  from  Rev.  Asa  D.  Smith,  D.  D.,  President  Dartmouth 

College,  New  Hampshire,            -            -            -            -  90 


IV  TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 

Letter  from  Ex-Governor  Wm.  A.  Buckingham,  Norwich,  Ct.,  90 

Letter  from  Rev.  Daniel  Hunt,  Pomfret,  Conn.,       -  -  91 

Note  A.     Letter  of  the  Parish  to  Rev.  E.  Wheelock,  D.  D., 

relating  to  the  Location  of  the  Charity  School,      -  -  92 

Note  B.     Letter  recommending  Rev.   Mr.   Whitaker  in  his 

efforts  soliciting  subscriptions  for  Moor's  Charity  School,  95 


HISTORICAL  DISCOTJESE, 


BY  THE  PASTOR,  REV.  FREDERICK  D.  AVERY. 


It  was  just  as  the  seventeenth  century  was  flowing  into  the 
eighteenth  that  the  inhabitants  of  Lebanon  completed  their 
town  organization,  gathered  the  first  church  and  settled  their 
first  minister.  Sixteen  years  after,  in  1716,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago,  a  second  ecclesiastical  society  was  constituted, 
which  was  known  as  Lebanon  North  Parish,  or  Lebanon 
Crank,  until  1804,  when  Columbia  became  a  town. 

All  efforts  to  ascertain  the  exact  date  of  the  organization  of 
this  church  have  been  fruitless.  The  time  would  probably 
vary  but  little,  if  at  all,  from  the  formation  of  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal society.  Taking  the  year  1716  as  our  stand-point,  what 
would  we  find  to  be  the  religious  aspect  of  the  State  ?  There 
were  then  but  four  counties  in  the  State,  Hartford,  New 
Haven,  New  London  and  Fairfield.  1\\  all  the  State  there 
were  a  few  Episcopal  societies,  one  Baptist,  no  Methodist. 
Of  our  own  denomination,  in  what  is  now  Hartford  county, 
there  were  twelve  churches,  where  there  are  now  fifty-one; 
in  what  is  now  New  Haven  county,  there  were  nine  churches, 
where  there  are  now  forty-nine;  in  what  is  now  New  London 
county,  there  were  eight  churches,  where  there  are  now  thirty- 
four;  in  what  is  now  Fairfield  county,  there  were  eleven 
churches,  where  there  are  now  thirty-six;  in  what  is  now 
Windham  county,  there  were  six  churches,  where  there  are 
now  twenty-seven ;  in  what  is  now  Middlesex  county,  there 
were  seven  churches,  where  there  are  now  twenty-six;  in 
what  is  now  Litchfield  county,  there  were  two  churches,  where 
1 


there  are  now  forty-one;  in  what  is  now  Tolland  county,  there 
were  two  churches  besides  our  own,  South  Mansfield  and 
South  Coventry,  where  there  are  now  twenty-two ;  in  all  fifty- 
seven  churches  in  the  State  150  years  ago,  where  there  are 
now  286  of  our  own  denomination,  160  Methodist,  115  Bap- 
tist, and  130  Episcopal. 

The  early  history  of  most  of  our  old  churches  is  very  imper- 
fectly known,  for  want  of  any  thing  that  may  properly  be 
called  Records;  and  in  this  misfortune  this  church  shares 
largely.  Of  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  existence  of  this  church, 
but  a  few  meagre  pages  are  to  be  found,  as  its  own  proper 
record  at  the  time ;  and  of  the  next  seventy  years  we  have 
scarcely  more  than  the  barest  statistics  of  baptisms,  admissions 
and  deaths. 

The  first  item  that  has  been  found  indicating  the  actual 
existence  of  this  church  is  the  fact  stated  by  Dr.  Trumbull, 
that  Mr.  Samuel  Smith  was  settled  here  in  the  year  1720. 
Mr.  Smith  was  doubtless  the  first  pastor.  His  ministry  was 
of  short  duration,  the  parish  granting  his  request  to  "lay 
down  the  pastoral  office,"  December  24,  1724.  He  was  a 
native  of  Glastenbury ;  was  graduated  at  Yale  College,  in 
1713,  in  a  class  of  three,  and  was  a  tutor  in  the  College.  He 
died  in  1725,  only  five  years  from  the  time  of  his  settlement 
here,  and  twelve  years  after  his  graduation. 

But  one  month  elapsed  and  a  call  was  extended  to  Mr. 
William  Gager,  who  was  ordained  May  27, 1725.  This  second 
pastor  continued  his  labors  here  nearly  ten  years,  when  the 
termination  of  his  pastorate  is  thus  declared  by  himself,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1735 :  "  I,  the  subscriber,  do  by  these  presents 
desist  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  the  North  Society  in  Leba- 
non, and  release  said  people  from  all  obligations  they  have 
made  with  me  as  to  my  support  and  maintenance  for  the 
future,  and  declare  that  I  have  no  particular  or  special  right 
to  officiate  as  a  minister  among  them."  After  leaving  this 
people  Mr.  Gager  preached  one  year  in  Eastbury.  He  was 
born  in  1704,  the  son  of  Samuel  and  Rebecca  Gager ;  was 
graduated  at  Yale  College,  in  1721,  and  died  in  May,  1789, 
aged  thirty-three. 


The  third  pastor  was  Rev.  Eleazar  Wheelock.  Mr.  Wheel- 
ock  was  born  in  Windham,  in  May,  1711,  the  only  son  of 
Deacon  Ralph  Wheelock.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  College, 
in  1733,  having  for  a  class-mate  Benjamin  Pomeroy,  who  soon 
became  his  much-esteemed  fellow-laborer  as  the  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Hebron.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  by 
the  New  Haven  East  Association,  in  1734.  He  received  a 
call  to  settle  here  in  February,  1735,  and  was  ordained  the 
first  Wednesday  in  June  following.  The  terms  of  his  settle- 
ment are  as  follows:  "  Voted  to  give  Mr.  Wheelock  that  part 
of  the  minister's  farm  which  they  reserved  in  their  agreement 
with  Mr.  Gager,  which  they  suppose  is  something  more  than 
twenty  acres,  and  two  hundred  pounds  in  bills  of  public  credit, 
for  a  settlement,  in  case  he  settle  in  the  work  of  the  ministry 
among  us.  Also,  voted  to  give  Mr.  Wheelock  one  hundred 
and  forty  pounds  a  year  salary,  to  be  paid  in  bills  of  public 
credit,  or  in  provision  at  the  following  prices;  viz.  wheat  at 
nine  shillings  per  bushel,  rye  at  seven,  Indian  corn  at  five, 
oats  at  two  shillings  and  six  pence,  pork  at  six  pence  a  pound, 
and  beef  at  four  ;  which  are  to  be  the  standard  by  which  his 
salary  is  to  rise  or  fall  proportionally  as  they  in  the  general 
rise  or  fall  among  us." 

Mr.  Wheelock  began  his  ministry  here  just  at  the  time 
when  commenced  that  marvelous  work  of  grace  in  New  Eng- 
land which  is  termed  the  "  Great  Awakening."  He  entered 
into  this  work  from  the  very  first,  and  became  an  earnest  and 
efficient  fellow-laborer  with  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards. 
Not  a  year  had  passed  after  his  settlement  before  this  parish 
was  beginning  to  receive  the  fruits  of  his  faithful  and  well- 
directed  Itbors.  Under  date  of  1736,  stated  by  Jonathan 
Edwards  to  be  in  the  Spring  and  Summer  of  that  year,  the 
historian  brings  this  testimony:  "The  work  also  was  very 
great  at  Lebanon  Crank,  a  parish  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Wheelock,  a  pious  young  gentleman  who  had  been  then  very 
lately  ordained  in  that  place."  Of  the  real  extent  and  dura- 
tion of  this  revival  here  no  certain  statement  can  be  made ; 
nor  do  we  know  that  there  was  any  other  period  in  his  minis- 
try that  was  so  distinctly  marked  by  the  special  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 


8 

Such  success  attended  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Wheelock  in 
that  revival  season,  that  he  found  himself,  either  by  solicita- 
tion or  from  the  impulse  of  his  own  earnest  soul,  drawn  away 
from  his  own  special  field,  to  engage  in  like  efforts  with  other 
churches  and  ministers,  yet  probably  without  neglecting  his 
own  flock.  We  find  him  in  Enfield,  July  8, 1741,  hstening 
to  that  memorable  sermon  of  Edwards,  entitled  "  Sinners  in 
the  hands  of  an  angry  God,"  from  the  text,  "Their  foot  shall 
slide  in  due  time ;"  and  his  report  of  that  meeting  to  Dr. 
Trumbull,  gives  that  historian  this  passage:  "While  the  peo- 
ple in  the  neighboring  towns  were  in  great  distress  for  their 
souls,  the  inhabitants  of  that  town  were  very  secure,  loose  and 
vain.  A  lecture  had  been  appointed  at  Enfield,  and  the 
neighboring  people,  the  night  before,  were  so  affected  at  tlie 
thoughtlessness  of  the  inhabitants,  and  in  such  fear  that  God 
would,  in  his  righteous  judgment,  pass  them  by,  while  the 
divine  showers  were  falling  all  around  them,  as  to  be  prostrate 
before  him  a  considerable  part  of  it,  supplicating  mercy  for 
their  souls.  When  the  time  appointed  for  the  lecture  came, 
a  number  of  the  neighboring  ministers  attended,  and  some 
from  a  distance.  When  they  went  into  the  meeting-house, 
the  appearance  of  the  assembly  was  thoughtless  and  vain.  The 
people  hardly  conducted  themselves  with  common  decency. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards,  of  Northampton,  preached,  and  before 
the  sermon  was  ended,  the  assembly  appeared  deeply  impressed 
and  bowed  down,  with  an  awful  conviction  of  their  sin  and 
danger.  There  was  such  a  breathing  of  distress,  and  weep- 
ing, that  the  preacher  was  obliged  to  speak  to  the  people  and 
desire  silence,  that  he  might  be  heard.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  same  great  and  prevailing  concern  in  that  place, 
with  which  the  colony  in  general  was  visited." 

Three  months  later  we  find  Mr.  Wheelock  journeying 
towards  Boston,  and  he  lets  us  trace  his  steps  by  his  private 
journal,  a  few  notes  from  which  will  serve  to  show  us  the 
spirit  of  the  man,  and  the  character  of  his  labors. 

"  October  21, 1741.  Rode  to  Yoluutown.  There  is  a  great 
work  in  this  town,  but  more  of  the  footsteps  of  satan  than  in 
any  place  I  have  yet  been  in.     At  their  conference  in  the  eve- 


9 

iiing  I  mentioned  some  of  the  devices  of  satan,  which  I 
apprehend  they  are  in  danger  of,  and  heard  the  accounts  of  a 
number  of  new  converts. 

October  22.  Rose  this  morning  refreshed;  found  my  soul 
stretching  after  God.  Preached  twice,  with  enlargement,  by 
Mr.  Smith's  barn,  to  great  assemblies.  Many  cried  out; 
many  stood  trembling ;  the  whole  assembly  very  solemn  and 
much  aflFection ;  four  or  five  converted. 

24.  About  two  miles  from  Providence,  met  Mr.  Knight  and 
another  man,  who  came  out  to  meet  us.  His  first  salutation 
was,  '  God  bless  you,  my  dear  brother.'  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton 
came;  invited  me  to  preach. 

25.  Rode  with  Mr.  Knight  into  town.  Preached  three 
sermons,  2  Cor.  13,  5  ;  Mark  1,2;  Luke  10,  ult. 

30.  Had  a  great  sense  of  my  own  badness  and  unworthi- 
ness,  of  what  a  cursed  heart  I  have.  0  Lord,  let  me  see  and 
know  more  of  it.  Rode  to  Norton.  Preached  to  a  full 
assembly;  much  affection  and  sobbing  through  the  whole 
assembly. 

November  1.  "Went  with  brother  Byram  to  Taunton; 
preached  there.  Appointed  another  meeting  in  the  evening. 
A  great  work  in  the  town.  I  was  forced  to  break  off  my  ser- 
mon before  it  was  done,  the  outcry  was  so  great. 

November  2.  Rode  with  a  great  number  to  Bridgewater. 
Preached  to  a  full  assembly,  in  Mr.  Shaw's  meeting-house. 

3.  Rode  with  a  great  number  to  Mr.  Perkins'  meeting- 
house. A  very  full  assembly.  So  many  wounded  that  I 
could  not  leave  them.  Therefore  preached  again  to  a  full 
assembly. 

6.  Set  out  for  Boston.  Met  by  dear  Mr.  Prince  and  Mr. 
Bromfield,  about  eight  miles  from  Boston.  Came  in  to  Mr. 
Bromfield's.  Soon  after  my  arrival,  came  the  Hon.  Josiah 
Willard,  Secretary,  Rev.  Mr.  Webb,  and  Mr.  Cooper,  and 
Major  Sewal,  to  bid  me  welcome  to  Boston.  At  six  o'clock 
preached  for  Mr.  "Webb,  to  a  great  assembly. 

8.  Went  to  Dr.  Coleman's  meeting ;  preached  with  con- 
siderable freedom.  Dined  with  the  Dr.  "Went  with  Mr. 
Rogers  to  Mr.  Prince's.     Preached  to  a  full  assembly.     After 


10 

meeting  was  followed  by  a  great  throng  of  children,  who  im- 
portunately desired  me  to  give  them  a  word  of  exhortation  in 
a  private  house,  which  I  consented  to  do,  though  I  designed 
to  go  and  hear  Mr.  Prince,  who,  being  by,  desired  that  I  would 
have  it  publicly,  which  I  consented  to. 

9.  Visited  this  morning  by  a  great  number  of  persons 
under  soul  trouble.  Refused  to  preach  because  I  designed  to 
go  out  of  town.  Just  as  I  was  going,  came  Mr.  Webb  and 
told  me  the  people  were  meeting  together  to  hear  another 
sermon.  I  consented  to  preach  again.  A  scholar  from  Cam- 
bridge being  present,  who  came  to  get  me  to  go  to  Cambridge, 
hastened  to  Cambridge,  and  by  a  little  after  six  a  great  part 
of  the  scholars  had  got  to  Boston.  Preached  to  a  very 
thronged  assembly,  many  more  than  could  get  into  the  house, 
with  very-  great  freedom  and  enlargement.  I  believe  the 
children  of  God  were  very  much  refreshed." 

We  see  from  these  extracts  how  heartily  Mr.  Wheelock 
entered  into  this  new  revival-work,  becoming  indeed  one  of 
the  chief  leaders  in  it,  and  witnessing  the  same  wonderful 
results  of  his  labors  abroad  in  other  towns,  that  he  had  just 
before  seen  here  at  home.  So  constant  were  his  efforts  to 
bring  sinners  to  Christ,  that  in  one  year  "he  preached  a  hun- 
dred more  sermons  than  there  are  days  in  the  year." 

It  might  seem  at  times  that  he  laid  himself  liable  to  the 
charge  of  being  an  enthusiast,  as  indulging  in  extravagancies 
and  unwarranted  hopes  in  respect  to  the  character  of  his  work. 
Yet  he  was  actually  so  far  from  countenancing  the  extreme 
fanatics  of  his  day,  that  we  find  one  of  those  who  were  termed 
Separatists,  dealing  with  him  thus  thoroughly: — "Yet  all 
this," — afflictions  and  losses  that  he  had  spoken  of, — "never 
went  so  near  to  my  soul  as  it  does  to  hear  and  see  the  blessed 
work  and  ways  of  the  glorious  God,  called  errors  and  delu- 
sions of  the  devil.  Pray,  sir,  let  me  deal  plainly  now,  and 
don't  be  angry.  Do  you  think  you  are  out  of  danger  of  com- 
mitting the  unpardonable  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost?  It 
would  not  surprise  me  much  to  hear  that  God  had  opened 
the  flood-gates  of  his  wrath,  and  let  out  the  horrors  of  con- 
science on  you,  and  many  more  of  your  party  who  deny  the 


11 

truth,  so  that  you  should  die  in  as  great  despair  as  Judas  or 
Spira  did."  So  much  for  the  attack  on  that  side.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  many  of  the  ministers  «^f  New  England  were 
very  apprehensive  of  the  result  of  this  great  movement,  and 
some  set  themselves  directly  and  strongly  against  it,  caution- 
ing their  churches  not  to  come  under  its  influences.  Mem- 
bers were  suspended  from  communion  "for  going  to  hear  Mr. 
Whitfield,  Mr.  Wheelock,  Mr.  Pomeroy,  and  otlier  zealous 
preachers."  Dr.  Chauncey,  of  Boston,  in  a  published  work, 
represented  Mr.  Pomeroy  and  Mr.  Wheelock  as  the  principal 
instruments  of  the  disorders  and  confusions  in  Connecticut. 
Between  these  two  opposite  pressures,  it  is  quite  likely  that 
the  pastor  of  Lebanon  Crank  pursued  his  even  course,  looking 
only  to  his  Master  for  light  and  direction.  There  were  men 
of  rashness  and  of  very  folly  in  the  methods  which  they 
adopted  in  that  time  of  the  Great  Awakening,  and  with  these 
Mr.  Wheelock  was  sometimes  indiscriminately  classed.  But 
one  of  the  foremost  of  these  men,  Mr.  James  Davenport, 
came  to  see  his  sin  and  folly,  and  applied  to  Rev.  Solomon 
Williams,  of  Lebanon,  and  Mr.  Wheelock,  to  know  what  he 
should  do ;  and,  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  these  two 
ministers  of  Lebanon,  he  was  led  to  a  public  confession  and 
retraction. 

Now  would  you  know  just  what  that  preaching  was  which 
stirred  the  souls  of  your  fathers  and  mothers  of  that  olden 
time,  and  which  wrought  such  commotion  in  many  another 
parish,  far  and  near  ?  Listen  then  to  the  report  by  the  his- 
torian, Dr.  Trumbull,  a  native  of  Hebron,  and  who  "lived 
sometime  in  the  family  of  Dr.  Wheelock."  "  The  doctrines 
preached  by  those  famous  men,"  Pomeroy  and  Wheelock, 
"  who  were  owned  as  the  principal  instruments  of  this  extra- 
ordinary revival  of  God's  work,  were  the  doctrines  of  tho 
reformation  ;  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  ;  of  regeneration  by 
the  supernatural  influences  of  the  divine  Spirit,  and  of  the 
absolute  necessity  of  it,  that  any  man  might  bear  good  fruit, 
or  ever  be  admitted  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  effectual  call- 
ing; justification  by  faith  wholly  on  account  of  the  imputed 
righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ ;  repentance  toward  God,  and 


12 

faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  the  perseverance  of  the 
saints;  the  indwelling  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  them; 
and  its  divine  consolations  and  joys." 

Two  of  his  sermons  are  particularly  spoken  of  in  the  narra- 
tive of  those  revivals,  as  having  been  attended  with  marked 
results;  one  from  the  text,  "What  is  the  hope  of  the  hypo- 
crite though  he  hath  gained,  when  God  taketh  away  the 
soul?"  showing  "how  far  a  man  might  go  in  religion,  and 
after  all  be  no  more  than  a  hypocrite,"  and  then  "  the  miser- 
able end  of  the  hypocrite ;"  the  other  from  the  text,  "  He  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned ;"  describing  a  "  saving  faith  in  Christ, 
giving  many  distinguishing  marks  of  it,  and  finally  insisting 
that  all  without  exception,  who  would  not  believe,  would  most 
certainly  be  damned."  Not  many  of  his  sermons  were  written 
in  full ;  as  his  duties  and  cares  became  more  pressing  he  em- 
ployed only  brief  notes. 

Mr.  Wheelock  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity 
from  the  University  at  Edinburg,  June  29,  1767. 

His  labors  in  connection  with  Moor's  Indian  Charity  School 
will  be  noticed  in  another  place.  It  was  in  the  interests  of 
this  enterprise  that  he  deemed  it  best  to  sever  his  relation 
from  this  people,  and  move,  with  his  pupils,  into  the  wild 
lands  of  New  Hampshire,  where,  in  connection  with  the 
school,  Dartmouth  College  was  founded,  and  Dr.  Wheelock 
became  its  first  President. 

In  April,  1770,  the  ecclesiastical  society  concurred  with  the 
vote  of  the  church  to  submit  the  matter  of  Dr.  Wheelock's 
dismission  to  the  decision  of  the  western  committee  of  the 
association  of  Windham  county,  with  which  association,  this 
church,  through  its  pastor,  was  then  connected,  and  he  was 
accordingly  dismissed  that  year,  having  held  the  pastoral  office 
thirty-five  years.  In  August,  he  left  for  his  new  home  in 
Hanover,  New  Hampshire ;  cut  away  the  pine  trees ;  built  a 
log  hut  eighteen  feet  square ;  in  three  months  after  had  a  one 
story  house  for  himself  and  family,  and  a  two  story  house  for 
his  College  ;  and  in  the  next  August  a  class  of  four  young 
men  was  graduated.    He  presided  over  the  College,  preach- 


IS 

ing  to  the  students  and  the  people  of  the  village,  eight  years. 
Having  been  seized  with  epilepsy  he  lingered  three  months, 
and,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight,  died  April  24, 1779,  singing  and 
longing,  "  Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil."  "1  have  a  desire  to  depart  and 
be  with  Christ." 

Dr.  Wheelock  is  described  as  "of  middle  stature  and  size, 
well  proportioned,  erect  and  dignified.  His  features  were 
prominent,  his  eyes  a  light  blue  and  animated.  His  com- 
plexion was  fair,  and  the  general  expression  of  his  counten- 
ance pleasing  and  handsome.  His  voice  was  remarkably  full, 
harmonious  and  commanding.  His  movements  while  in  the 
desk  were  natural  and  impressive,  and  his  eloquence  irresist" 
ible.  His  preaching  and  addresses  were  close  and  pungent, 
and  ,yet  winning  beyond  almost  all  comparison,  so  that  his 
audience  would  be  melted  even  into  tears  before  they  were 
aware  of  it." 

He  was  first  married  in  April,  1735,  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Maltby, 
widow  of  Capt,  William  Maltby,  of  New  Haven,  and  daughter 
of  Rev.  John  Davenport,  of  Stamford.  She  died  in  this  place 
November  13,  1746,  at  the  age  of  forty-three,  and  her  grave 
is  to  be  found  near  the  center  of  the  old  cemetery.  Her 
daughter  Ruth  was  married  to  Rev.  William  Patten,  of  Hart- 
ford, and  there  are  those  still  witli  us  who  remember  Mrs. 
Patten  in  her  old  age,  in  Hartford,  and  who  listened  to  her 
interested  inquiries  about  Lebanon  Crank.  The  second  wife 
of  Dr.  Wheelock  was  Miss  Mary  Brinsmade,  of  Milford.  They 
liad  five  children ;  Mary,  who  married  Bezaleel  Woodward^ 
first  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  Dartmouth  College;  Abigail, 
who  married  Rev.  Sylvanus  Ripley,  one  of  the  first  four  grad- 
uates, and  first  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  same  institution ; 
John,  also  of  the  first  class,  and  successor  of  his  father  in  the 
Presidency,  nearly  forty  years;  Col.  Eleazer  Wheelock  and 
James  Wheelock.  Two  sons  by  his  first  wife,  both  bearing 
his  njime,  died  in  infancy,  and  are  buried  by  the  side  of  the 
mother. 

Tlie  publications  of  Dr.  Wheelock  arc,  "  A  Narrative  of  the 
Indian  Charity  School  at  Lebanon,"  1702;  a  Sermon  at  the 
2 


14 

Ordination  of  Charles  Jeffrey  Smith,  1763;  "Narratives"  in 
several  numbers  from  1763  to  1771;  "Continuation  of  the 
Narrative,"  1773;  A  Sermon  on  "Liberty  of  Conscience,  or 
no  king  but  Clirist  in  the  church,"  1775.  His  Memoirs,  by 
Drs.  McClure  and  Parish,  were  published  in  1811. 

In  a  scrap  of  Church  Record  which  has  been  furnished  from 
Dr.  Wheelock's  old  papers  by  Rev.  William  Allen,  D.  D.,  of 
Northampton,  who  married  his  grand-daughter,  we  have  the 
following  item  :  "  At  a  meeting  of  the  brethren  of  the  church 
of  Christ  in  Lebanon  North  Parish,  February  14,  A.  D. 
1737-8,  the  church  then  voted  that  they  would  choose  a  com- 
petent number  of  the  most  judicious,  prudent  and  skillful  of 
the  brethren  of  the  church,  and  set  them  apart  for,  and  com- 
mit to  them,  the  management  of  all  affairs  in  church  govern- 
ment, in  all  ordinary  cases,  and  appoint  them  to  examine,  try 
and  judge  of  the  same  in  their  name  and  behalf,  under  the 
conduct  of  their  minister  or  pastor,  and  to  advise,  assist  and 
help  him  in  any  matters  wherein  he  shall  desire  or  require 
their  help  and  assistance ;  and  pursuant  to  this  vote  this 
church  made  choice  of  these  brethren,  in  the  order  following, 
to  represent  them:  Deacon  John  Newcomb,  Deacon  Joseph 
Clark,  Captain  Ephraim  Sprague,  Mr.  James  Wright,  Mr. 
Nehemiah  Clossen,  Mr.  Josiah  Lyman,  Mr.  Thomas  Wood- 
ward, Lieutenant  Henry  Woodward,  Ensign  John  Daggett." 
How  long  this  Church  Council,  as  it  was  called,  was  kept  in 
existence  can  not  be  determined,  but  since  it  appears  to  have 
come  into  disfavor  with  some  very  soon,  it  is  quite  probable 
that  it  was  discontinued  before  the  close  of  Dr.  Wheelock's 
pastorate. 

A  little  more  than  two  years  passed  and  the  fourth  pastor 
was  settled.  Rev.  Thomas  Brockway.  Mr.  Brockway  was 
born  in  Lyme,  in  the  year  1744.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale 
College,  in  1768. 

In  January,  1772,  he  received  a  call  to  settle  over  this 
church  and  society.  The  terms  of  his  settlement  were  as  fol- 
lows: "Voted  to  give  Mr.  Thomas  Brockway  two  hundred 
pounds  settlement,  one  hundred  to  be  paid  at  the  end  of  the 
first  year,  and  fifty  pounds  at  the  end  of  each  of  the  two  fol- 


15 

lowing  years.  Also,  to  give  him  ninety  pounds  salary,  and  to 
get  him  as  many  cords  of  wood  yearly,  at  six  shillings  a  cord, 
as  he  desires,  not  exceeding  thirty  cords,  to  be  redacted  out 
of  the  above  ninety  pounds." 

He  was  ordained  the  24th  of  June,  1772.  The  Wednesday 
previous  was  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  with 
reference  to  the  occasion.  A  person  was  chosen  "  in  behalf 
of  the  church  and  society  to  return  thanks  to  the  Reverend 
Council  for  their  kind  assistance  in  ordaining  Mr.  Brockway." 
The  ministers  invited  on  the  Council  were,  Rev.  Messrs.  Sol- 
omon Williams,  of  Lebanon;  Timothy  Stone,  of  Goshen; 
Joseph  Huntington,  of  Soutli  Coventry;  Benjamin  Pomeroy, 
of  Hebron;  Samuel  Lockwood,  of  Andover;  George  Beck- 
with  and  Stephen  Johnson.  The  sermon  was  preached  by 
Rev.  Samuel  Clark,  of  Kensington,  from  2  Cor.  4,  1,  which, 
in  accordance  with  a  vote  of  the  society,  was  published. 

The  earliest  Church  Records,  of  any  extent,  are  in  the 
hand-writing  of  Mr.  Brockway,  commencing  with  his  settle- 
ment. When  he  began  his  ministry,  tlie  church  consisted 
of  sixty-nine  members;  thirty -two  males,  and  thirty-seven 
females.  He  was  with  this  people  during  the  troublous  times 
of  war,  when  the  life  of  some  of  our  churches,  as  well  as  of 
many  of  our  noble-hearted  patriots,  was  put  in  jeopardy.  He 
was  ready  to  share  with  his  people  in  their  pecuniary  strug- 
gles, proposing  "  to  give  in  fifteen  pounds  a  year  till  the  enemy 
withdrew,  and  ten  pounds  a  year  till  the  Continental  debt  be 
paid."  But  this  was  not  enough.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  the 
burning  of  New  London  reached  tliis  place,  "  he  started  off 
with  his  long  gun  and  deacons  and  parishioners  to  assist  in 
doing  battle  with  tlie  enemy." 

The  seasons  of  special  religious  interest  during  liis  ministry 
will  be  noticed  in  his  own  words,  taken  from  an  account  pub- 
lished near  tlie  close  of  his  life,  in  April,  1803,  in  the  Con- 
necticut Evangelical  Magazine.  "Compared  with  other  ac- 
counts, I  have  little  to  say,  yet  on  the  score  of  sovereign 
grace,  and  the  almighty  power  of  the  divine  Spirit,  in  subdu- 
ing the  sinner,  I  have  much  to  say.  I  can  bear  the  same  tes- 
timony with  those  that  have  labored  in  a  larger  field,  that 


16 

with  the  Lord  there  is  mercy,  and  with  him  is  plenteous 
redemption.  In  the  year  1781,  it  pleased  God  to  revive  his 
work  among  us ;  a  special  attention  and  uncommon  serio\is- 
ness  seemed  to  prevail  in  all  parts  of  the  society;  and  the 
happy  effects  for  many  years  were  sensibly  felt.  At  that  sea- 
son there  were  upwards  of  thirty  added  to  the  church.  After 
that,  there  was  nothing  special  took  place,  except  in  individual 
cases,  for  twenty  years;  during  which  period  the  spirit  of 
vital  religion  was  reduced  to  a  very  languid  state.  This  will 
ever  be  the  case  without  fresh  anointings  from  the  Spirit. 
Toward  the  latter  end  of  March,  in  the  year  1801,  two  or 
three  pious  people  agreed  to  meet  and  pray  for  a  revival  of 
religion  among  us.  This  was  soon  discovered  and  others 
joined.  The  numbers  increased  weekly,  and  in  the  May  and 
June  following,  our  meetings  became  crowded,  and  the  Spirit 
of  God  in  the  conviction  of  a  number  was  evidently  seen 
among  us.  A  public  lecture  was  appointed,  in  which  I  was 
favored  T\ath  the  kind  assistance  of  my  brethren  in  the  minis- 
try. Our  conferences  were  attended  three  or  four  times  in 
the  week ;  but  the  most  crowded,  and  that  which  discovered 
most  of  the  power  of  the  Spirit  was  on  Thursday  in  the  after- 
noon. During  this  period  religion  appeared  not  to  be  a  sec- 
ondary object,  but  the  one  thing  needful.  Sabbaths  seemed 
too  far  distant,  and  the  appointed  seasons  of  conference  were 
waited  for  with  anticipated  delight.  The  work,  however,  was 
far  from  being  general  among  the  people.  There  were  some 
from  almost  every  part  of  the  society ;  and  some  families  so 
peculiarly  distinguished,  that  it  might  almost  be  said  of  them 
as  of  the  favored  house  at  which  our  Lord  when  in  the  flesh 
so  often  called,  that  they  were  all  friends  to  Jesus.  To  the 
serious,  contemplative  mind,  there  was  a  striking  display  of 
the  sovereign,  discriminating  grace  of  God.  While  one  family 
was  wholly  occupied  with  the  concerns  of  tlie  soul,  perhaps  a 
few  rods  at  the  next  door,  nothing  of  it  was  to  be  seen;  they 
were  wholly  unmoved,  unless  with  a  spirit  of  opposition.  The 
work,  in  its  early  stage,  took  deep  hold  of  professors.  They 
seemed  to  awake  as  from  sleep,  and  the  prosperity  of  Zion  was 
the  object  of  their  united  prayers.     Love  to  one  another,  and 


17 

zeal  for  the  cause  animated  them,  with  but  few  exceptions. 
Tlie  still  small  voice  has  characterized  the  work  from  the 
beginning,  without  any  thing  of  an  opposite  nature." 

One  still  remains  with  us  who  was  a  subject  of  that  revival 
of  1801,  and  united  with  the  church  that  year,  whose  wife, — 
also  a  subject  and  uniting  with  the  church  then, — has  passed 
away  during  the  present  year.  Thirty-five  were  added  to  tlie 
church  as  the  fruits  of  that  revival.  The  whole  number 
admitted  to  the  church  during  Mr.  Brockway's  ministry  was 
139,  of  whom  twenty-nine  were  by  letter. 

Having  been  ill  and  not  able  to  preach  for  a  few  weeks,  he 
went  to  Lyme,  his  native  place,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health, 
and  there  he  died  suddenly  on  the  night  of  the  fourth  of  July, 
1807.  His  body  was  brought  to  Columbia,  and  on  Monday 
the  sixth,  the  funeral  was  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of 
people.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Zebulon  Ely,  of 
Lebanon,  from  Hebrews  13 :  7,  8,  "  Remember  them  which 
have  the  rule  over  you,  who  have  spoken  unto  you  the  word 
of  God,  whose  faith  follow,  considering  the  end  of  their  con- 
versation, Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday  and  to  day  and 
forever."  And  some  there  are  still  with  us  who  do  "  remem- 
ber," with  reverence,  with  esteem  and  with  affection,  that  holy 
man  of  God,  who  "ruled  over"  them  so  gently  and  with  such 
a  tender  care  for  the  flock,  whose  words  were  spoken  as  by 
the  servant  of  God,  and  whose  ministry  was  manifestly  accept- 
able to  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church. 

His  pastorate  was  just  the  same  number  of  years  as  Dr. 
Wheelock's,  thirty-five.  He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-two,  and 
you  read  upon  his  tomb-stone  in  yonder  cemetery, — "  As  an 
husband,  he  was  tender;  as  a  father,  affectionate;  and  as  a 
friend,  sincere.  As  a  minister  of  Christ,  he  shunned  not  to 
declare  all  the  counsel  of  God,  and  was  wise  in  turning  men 
to  rigliteousness." 

Mr.  Brockway  married  Eunice  Lathrop,  of  Norwich,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1772.  They  had  thirteen  children,  three  sons  and 
ten  daughters ;  two  of  wiiom,  a  son  and  daughter  are  buried 
by  the  side  of  the  father.     Mrs.  Brockway  died  in  1823. 

He  published  an  epic  poem,  entitled  "  The  Gospel  Tragedy," 


18 

in  1795 ;  a  sermon  on  "  Virtue  its  own  rewarder,"  in  1795 ; 
and  one  at  the  ordination  of  Bezaleel  Pinneo.  in  Milford, 
October  26,  1796,  from  Colossians  1 :  26,  27. 

Nearly  four  years  elapsed  before  the  fifth  pastor  was  settled, 
Rev.  Thomas  Rich.  Mr.  Rich  was  born  in  Warren,  Massa- 
chusetts, February  9,  1775,  and  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
College,  in  1799.  He  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Westbrook,  June  13,  1804,  from  which  church  he  was  dis- 
missed September  5,  1810.  He  was  installed  pastor  of  this 
church  and  society  March  6, 1811.  The  sermon  was  preached 
by  Rev.  Salmon  Cone,  of  Colchester. 

During  his  ministry,  in  June,  1814,  the  church  adopted  a 
form  of  Covenant  and  Confession  of  Faith.  Near  the  close  of 
his  ministry,  in  the  year  1816,  a  season  of  revival  was  enjoyed, 
as  the  fruits  of  which  forty-six  were  added  to  the  church.  He 
was  dismissed  June  13, 1817,  having  been  pastor  but  six  years. 
He  afterwards  preached  in  Sharon,  Massachusetts,  and  in 
Salisbury,  Massachusetts,  and  died  in  Amesbury,  September, 
1836,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one. 

The  sixth  pastor  was  Rev.  AVilliam  Burton.  He  was  born 
in  Washington,  Vermont,  and  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
College,  in  1815.  He  was  ordained  here  February  24, 1818; 
sermon  by  Rev.  Chauncey  Booth,  of  South  Coventry.  He 
preached  but  a  few  times,  holding  the  pastoral  office  only  six- 
teen months,  and  was  dismissed  June  23,  1819.  From  here 
he  went  to  the  southern  states,  but  spent  the  chief  part  of  his 
life  preaching  in  Ohio,  where  he  died  in  1858. 

The  seventh  pastor  was  Rev.  David  Dickinson.  He  was 
born  in  Conway,  Massachusetts,  July  22,  1770.  He  was  first 
engaged  in  the  medical  profession  for  six  years.  After  enter- 
ing the  ministry  he  was  settled  in  Plainfield,  New  Hampshire, 
for  eighteen  years.  He  was  installed  here  January  19,  1820. 
The  churches  invited  on  the  Council  were,  Hebron,  third 
church  in  Chatham,  (now  East  Hampton,)  Ellington,  Exeter, 
South  Coventry,  and  Andover.  The  sermon  was  preached 
by  Rev.  Amos  Bassett,  D.  D.,  of  Hebron;  charge  to  the  pastor, 
by  Rev.  Joel  West,  of  Chatham  ;  right  hand  of  fellowship,  by 


19 

Rev.  Chauncey  Booth,  of  South  Coventry;  and  address  to  the 
people,  by  Rev.  Diodate  Brockway,  of  Ellington. 

In  the  early  part  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  ministry  there  were 
marked  indications  of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  his 
labors  were  blessed  in  many  hopeful  conversions,  so  that  in 
the  year  1821  there  were  added  to  the  church  by  profession, 
twenty-three,  and  fifteen  in  each  of  the  years  1823  and  1825. 
But  in  1831,  there  was  a  more  extensive  and  powerful  work 
of  divine  grace ;  this  church  sharing  largely  in  the  blessing 
which  was  so  widely  experienced  throughout  the  State.  In 
that  year  forty-one  were  added  to  the  chvirch  by  profession. 
The  whole  number  added  during  his  ministry  of  seventeen 
years,  was  123,  of  whom  twenty  united  by  letter.  He  was 
dismissed  July  4, 1837.  After  his  removal  from  this  place 
he  resumed  the  practice  of  medicine,  and  died  in  Mexico,  N. 
Y.,  January  1,  1857,  aged  eighty-seven. 

The  eighth  pastor,  Rev.  Charles  Kittredge,  was  born  in 
Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  in  August,  1809,  and  was  grad- 
uated at  Dartmouth  College,  in  1834.  He  was  ordained  here 
March  27,  1839,  after  having  supplied  the  pulpit  nearly  a 
year.  The  churches  acting  in  the  Council  were,  Ellington, 
South  Coventry,  North  Coventry,  Bolton,  Andover,  Hebron, 
North  Mansfield,  and  Gilead.  Rev.  Bennett  Tyler,  D.  D.,  of 
East  Windsor,  preached  the  sermon,  from  Isaiah  58, 1 ;  charge 
to  the  pastor  by  Rev.  George  A.  Calhoun,  of  North  Coventry; 
right  hand  of  fellowship  by  Rev.  Alpha  Miller,  of  Andover; 
and  address  to  the  people  by  Rev.  William  Ely,  of  North 
Mansfield. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1839,  the  pastor  proposed 
"  an  abridgement  in  the  language  of  the  Confession  of  Faith, 
and  the  addition  of  proof  texts,  and  to  have  the  same  printed, 
together  with  the  covenant  and  a  catalogue  of  all  the  names 
of  the  members  of  the  church,  in  pamphlet  form,  and  one 
copy  for  each  member  ;"  which  proposal,  after  due  delibera- 
tion, was  approved,  and,  on  June  9th,  1840,  our  confession 
and  covenant,  as  at  present  existing,  were  adopted. 

Being  unable  to  preach  for  a  considerable  time  from  im- 
paired health,  Mr.  Kittredge  asked  the  church  to  agree  with 


20 

him  in  calling  a  council  for  his  dismission,  to  which  request 
the  church  and  society  consented,  and  he  was  accordingly  dis- 
missed Feb.  16th,  1841,  after  a  pastorate  of  only  two  years, 
in  which  time  nine  were  added  to  the  church.  He  afterwards 
preached,  for  a  time,  in  West  Greece,  N.  Y.,  in  which  place 
he  now  resides,  without  any  pastoral  charge. 

The  ninth  pastor  was  Rev.  James  Wheelock  Woodward,  a 
descendant,  in  the  fourth  generation,  of  Dr.  Wheelock.  He 
was  born  in  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  March  30, 1805,  and 
was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College,  in  1826.  For  nine 
years  he  was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Shrews- 
bury, New  Jersey.  After  preaching  here  several  months,  he 
was  installed  March  23d,  1842.  The  churches  comprising  the 
council  were,  South  Coventry,  North  Coventry,  Andover, 
Gilead,  East  Stafford,  Marlboro  and  Willimantic.  The  ser- 
mon, from  II  Cor.,  ii :  16,  was  preached  by  Rev.  Jonathan 
Cogswell,  D.  D.,  of  East  Windsor;  Charge  to  the  pastor  by 
Rev.  Chauncey  Booth,  of  South  Coventry  ;  Right  Hand  of 
Fellowship,  by  Rev.  George  H.  Woodward,  of  East  Stafford, 
brother  of  the  candidate  ;  and  Address  to  the  people  by  Rev. 
Charles  Nichols,  of  Gilead. 

During  the  year  previous  to  his  settlement,  his  labors  with 
this  people  were  largely  blessed,  and  17  were  added  to  the 
church  near  the  close  of  the  year.  During  his  ministry  56 
were  received  to  the  church.  He  was  dismissed  Oct.  12th, 
1848,  having  been  pastor  nearly  seven  years. 

After  leaving  this  place  he  resided,  for  a  time,  in  Flatbush, 
Long  Island,  and  then  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits  ;  and  again,  for  a  few  months, 
in  Columbia ;  nearly  all  this  time  under  treatment  for  that 
dread  disease  which  was  disfiguring  his  face  and  by  which  his 
life  was  terminated.  His  last  two  years  were  spent  in  Iowa, 
whither  he  went,  as  he  said,  "  to  die  with  his  brother."  He 
was,  however,  able  to  labor  there  happily  and  successfully, 
till  near  the  close  of  his  life,  connected,  most  of  the  time, 
with  the  Congregational  church  in  Irving.  He  died  in  Toledo, 
Iowa,  at  the  house  of  his  brother.  Rev.  George  H.  Woodward, 
Jan.  0th,  1864,  aged  58.     In  his  funeral  sermon,  preached  by 


21 

Rev.  Mr.  Dodd,  we  have  this  passage :  "  How  has  grace 
abounded  in  all  his  comfort !  always  satisfied  and  thankful, 
he  received  his  affliction  as  the  wisely-directed  allotment  of  a 
loving  Father,  chastening  an  erring  child  for  his  good.  He 
felt,  under  all,  that  God  is  good  when  he  afflicts  as  when  he 
comforts.  Though  for  a  long  time  a  great  sufferer,  he  was 
never  known  to  utter  a  word  of  complaint.  While  he  had 
breath  he  praised  his  God.  For  years  he  had  looked  death 
in  the  face,  and,  though  nature  always  shrinks  from  it  as  an 
enemy,  through  grace  he  had  been  enabled  to  see  it  disarmed 
of  its  sting,  and  to  greet  it  with  a  smile,  yea,  with  triumph. 
'  0,  death  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0,  grave  where  is  thy  victory  ? 
Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  " 

Mr.  Woodward  was  married  in  1834,  to  Miss  Jane  Ten- 
brook,  of  Shrewsbury,  New  Jersey.  She  died  in  Albany, 
New  York,  Dec.  6th,  1857. 

The  tenth  and  present  pastor  was  ordained  here,  June  11, 
1850.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Abel  McEwen, 
D.  D.,  of  New  London  ;  Charge  to  the  pastor  by  Rev.  George 
A.  Calhoun,  of  North  Coventry  ;  Right  Hand  of  Fellowship, 
by  Rev.  John  Avery,  of  Exeter  ;  and  Address  to  the  people 
by  Rev.  Samuel  G.  Willard,  of  Willimantic. 

During  the  present  pastorate  the  church  has  enjoyed  three 
seasons  of  revival :  in  1854,  when  26  were  added  to  the 
church ;  in  1858,  when  20  were  added  to  the  church  ;  and  in 
1865,  giving  an  accession  of  22.  And  besides  these  three,  it  is 
a  most  happy  coincidence  that  we  are  observing  this  150th 
anniversary  just  in  the  midst  of  a  work  of  grace,  so  marvel- 
ous and  so  wide-spread  in  this  town,  reaching  especially  so 
many  of  the  men  and  women  in  and  past  mid-life,  that  it 
seems  as  if  we  were  indeed  carried  back  to  that  mighty  work 
of  God,  here  in  Lebanon  Crank,  in  the  first  year  of  Dr. 
Wheelock's  ministry.  And  just  here  would  we  desire  to  re- 
cord our  grateful  sense  of  this  great  and  undeserved  favor  of 
God,  extended  to  us  within  the  month  past,  in  connection 
with  the  labors  of  Rev.  John  D.  Potter. 

The  wife  of  the  present  pastor,  Mrs.  Julia  S.  Avery,  daugli- 
3 


22 

ter  of  Roswell  and  Phebe  H.  Smith,  of  New  Haven,  died 
here  June  24th,  1855  ;  and  at  the  grave  stands  a  fitting  mon- 
ument, erected  by  the  ladies  of  the  Parish, — a  soothing  token 
of  their  affectionate  remembrance  of  one  whose  delight  it 
was  to  share  in  the  joys  and  sorrows  and  duties  of  the  people 
whom  she  fondly  loved. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1860,  a  new  catalogue  and 
manual  was  printed  for  the  use  of  the  church.  The  present 
list  of  members  Contains  130  names,  47  males  and  83  fe- 
males.* 

THE  DEACONS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Of  some  of  these  scarcely  more  can  here  be  noted  than  the 
bare  names.  No  date  of  election  can  be  positively  ascertain- 
ed until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  Previous  to 
that  time  we  take  the  year  in  which  they  are  first  called  dea- 
cons in  the  society  records,  as  very  near  the  time  of  their 
election.  The  first  deacons  mentioned  are  Samuel  Wright 
and  John  Newcomb,  and  these  persons  undoubtedly  officiated 
from  the  first. 

Deacon  Samuel  Wright,  died  April  18,  1734,  aged  61. 

Deacon  John  Newcomb  was  the  son  of  Simeon  and  Deb- 
orah Newcomb,  and  was  born  in  Edgarton,  Mass.,  about  the 
year  1688.  He  moved  from  here  to  Cornwallis,  Nova  Scotia, 
where  he  died  Feb.  22, 1765. 

Deacon  Joseph  Clark  is  mentioned  as  holding  the  ofiice  as 
early  as  1735.  His  tombstone  bears  this  testimony :  "  Capt. 
Joseph  Clark  Esq.,  a  man  who  was  faithful  in  his  private  and 
public  life ;  used  the  ofiice  of  deacon  well,  endured  his  last 
sickness  with  patience,  and  died  in  hope  of  a  blessed  immor- 
tality, Sept.  10, 1769,  in  the  78th  year  of  his  age." 

Deacon  Eliakim  T upper,  is  spoken  of  in  the  year  1741,  but 
how  long  he  held  the  ofiice,  or  when  he  died,  is  not  ascer- 
tained. 

Deacon  James  Wright  is  also  mentioned  as  early  as  the 
year  1745. 

*To  this  number  add  39  received  into  the  church  in  Jan.  1867,  of  whom  3  by 
letter. 


23 

Deacon  Josiah  Lyman  held  the  office  from  about  1750  till 
his  death,  Feb.  6,  1760,  at  the  age  of  70. 

Deacon  Thomas  Lyman  served  about  the  same  time,  and 
we  have  this  record  on  his  tombstone  :  "  He  was  a  man  of 
great  experience  in  the  christian  religion.  Few  in  our  world 
have  enjoyed  a  more  constant  communion  with  Heaven,  or, 
at  intervals,  had  greater  discoveries  of  divine  things.  His  life 
was  zealous  and  exemplary,  his  death  was  peaceful  and  tri- 
umphant. He  did  great  honor  to  religion  while  he  lived,  but 
greater  when  he  died.  In  his  last  moments  were  seen  the 
power  of  the  divine  life  and  the  most  convincing  proof  of  the 
truth  of  the  christian  religion."  He  died  Aug.  13,  1785,  in 
the  80th  year  of  his  age. 

Deacon  Israel  Woodward  united  with  this  church  in  1736, 
and  was  performing  the  duties  of  the  office  as  early  as  1752. 
He  died  July  30, 1797,  in  the  90th  year  of  his  age.  We  have 
this  inscription  at  his  grave  :  "  He  was  eminent  for  his  piety 
towards  God  and  usefulness  to  the  world,  and  came  to  his 
grave  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe.  The  memory  of  the 
just  is  blessed." 

Deacon  James  Pinneo,  born  in  1708,  held  the  office  as  early 
as  1755.  He  died  April  16,  1789,  aged  80  ;  and  his  tomb- 
stone tells  us  : 

"The  sweet  remembrance  of  the  just, 
Shall  flourish  when  they  sleep  in  dust." 

Deacon  Preserved  Wright  was  holding  the  office  at  the 
time  of  Dr.  Wheclock's  removal,  and  accompanied  him  to 
Hanover,  N.  H. 

Deacon  Jabez  Kingsbury  is  spoken  of  as  early  as  1768,  but 
no  further  record  is  found  of  him. 

Deacon  Samuel  Dunham  united  with  the  church  in  1741. 
On  his  tombstone  is  written  :  "  A  man  of  real  worth  in  private 
and  public  character,  his  usefulness  in  society  was  such  that 
he  might  fitly  be  called  a  blessing  in  his  day.  He  professed 
hearty  friendship  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  which  both  his  life 
and  his  death  witnessed  to  be  genuine.  In  the  lively  hope  of 
a  blessed  immortality,  he  departed  this  life  Dec.  9,  1779,  in 
the  62d  year  of  his  age." 


24 

Deacon  Daniel  Dunham,  son  of  Deacon  Samuel  Dunham, 
united  with  the  church  in  1769.  He  removed  from  town, 
and  where  and  when  lie  died  has  not  been  ascertained. 

Deacon  "Wadsworth  Brewster  is  remembered  by  two  or 
three  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  church,  as  fulfilling  the 
duties  of  the  office  in  the  first  days  of  their  communing  with 
this  church.  He  died  ^May  30,  1812,  at  the  age  of  75,  and  at 
his  grave  we  read  :  "  jMark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the 
upright;  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace." 

Deacon  James  Pinneo,  son  of  Deacon  James  and  Priscilla 
Pinneo,  was  born  April  5,  1734  ;  united  with  this  church  in 
1793 ;  and  died  June  14,  1824,  at  the  full  age  of  90. 

Deacon  Samuel  Barstow,  was  born  in  Exeter,  April  8,  1760. 
When  he  was  about  ten  years  of  age,  his  father  moved  into 
tliis  Parish.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  yielded  his  heart  to 
Christ  after  a  protracted  struggle,  in  which  he  was  made  to 
see  the  fearful  guilt  of  his  strong  rebellion  against  God.  He 
did  not,  however,  unite  with  the  church  till  Sept.,  1781.  He 
was  chosen  deacon  in  1801.  The  characteristic  feature  of 
his  spirit  and  life  would  quite  truly  be  expressed  by  that 
scripture,  "  not  slothful  iu  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving 
the  Lord."  He  was  ever  ready  to  introduce  and  carry  on 
religious  conversation.  In  seasons  of  religious  interest  in 
neighboring  towns  he  would  find  it  his  delight  to  be  present 
with  his  whole  soul,  sharing  in  and  helping  on  the  good 
work.  "In  1801  he  was  one  of  three  brethren  who  com- 
menced a  weekly  prayer  meeting  in  his  own  district  on  Thurs- 
day evening.  They  longed  for  a  revival  of  religion,  and  they 
determined  to  seek  it  in  the  appointed  way.  They  began  to 
inquire  of  the  Lord  for  it.  And  while  they  were  yet  speak- 
ing, the  Lord  heard  and  answered  them.  The  meetings  filled 
up,  christians  awoke  to  prayerful  efforts,  and  sinners  inquired, 
'what  shall  we  do?'  "  Thus  began  that  powerful  work  of 
grace  in  1801-2.  So  too  in  1816,  he  was  very  active  in  origi- 
nating those  meetings  for  prayer  which  resulted  in  another 
blessed  revival.  And  even  when  he  had  passed  his  fourscore 
years,  "  he  wished  to  be  a  fellow-helper  to  the  truth,  and 
consented  to  act  as  one  of  a  committee  to  go  from  house  to 


25 

lieiise  and  converse  and  pray  with  families.  Just  before  his 
death,  he  said,  "I  am  willing  to  stay  just  as  long,  and  suffer 
just  as  much  pain,  as  may  please  the  Lord.  But  I  long  to  go. 
I  feel  tliat  for  every  brother  on  earth,  I  have  fifteen  in  heaven, 
jind  I  long  to  be  with  them.  I  love  them,  but  I  love  the 
Saviour  more.  Precious,  precious  Saviour."  He  died  Feb. 
27,  1846,  aged  86.  A  sketch  of  his  life  was  published  in 
pamphlet  form,  and  was  made  one  of  the  tracts  of  the  Ameri- 
can Tract  Society. 

Deacon  Daniel  Lord  united  with  this  church  by  letter  in 
the  year  1800.  He  was  chosen  to  the  office  in  1801.  He  re- 
moved from  this  town  to  Bolton  where  he  died  in  1834. 

Deacon  Henry  Bliss  was  chosen  to  the  office  in  1810,  and 
died  May  27,  1815,  at  the  age  of  73. 

Deacon  Benjamin  Lyman,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth 
Lyman,  united  with  this  church  Oct.  18, 1809.  He  was  chosen 
deacon  in  1813,  and  having  obtained  help  of  God,  he  re- 
mains with  us  until  this  day.  He  had  anticipated  this  Anni- 
versary with  very  great  interest,  hoping  he  miglithave  strength 
to  be  present,  but  the  hand  of  his  Heavenly  Father  is  upon 
him  in  sicliness  and  infirmities,  and  he  is  only  awaiting  a 
happier  day  than  this. 

Deacon  Sylvester  Mauley  united  with  this  church  Oct.  18, 
1809,  and  was  chosen  deacon  in  1815.  He  removed  to  Penn- 
sylvania where  he  died  in  1833. 

Deacon  Silas  Holbrook,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  Holbrook, 
united  with  this  church  in  1814.  He  was  chosen  to  the  office  in 
1831.  A  man  of  great  simplicity  of  character,  and  of  de- 
vout, humble  spirit,  earnest  and  importunate  in  prayer,  his 
memory  is  cherished  with  esteem  by  the  whole  community. 
He  died  Feb.  19, 1861,  aged  79. 

Deacon  Lorenzo  W.  Dewey,  son  of  Eleazar  (the  sole  rem- 
nant of  the  revival  of  1801,)  and  Lydia  Dewey,  united  with 
this  church  in  1823.  He  was  chosen  deacon  July  8,  1843, 
and  is  still  performing  the  duties  of  the  office. 

Deacon  Chester  W.  Lyman,  son  of  Chester  and  Sophia  Ly- 
man, united  with  this  churcli  in  1823,  and  was  chosen  deacon 
April  30,  1858,  which  office  he  still  holds. 


26 


THE   SABBATH   SCHOOL. 


This  scliool  was  first  organized  in  May,  1820,  cliiefly  tlirongh 
tlie  agency  of  Rev.  Alfred  Wright.  Deacon  Benjamin  Ly- 
man was  the  first  superintendent,  which  position  he  contin- 
ued to  hold  for  fourteen  years.  The  first  lesson  given  to  the 
school  was  the  first  chapter  of  John,  and  each  scholar  was  to 
repeat  as  many  verses  as  could  be  remembered.  The  scholars 
in  those  classes  of  1820,  have  mostly  passed  away  in  death,  a  few 
remain  to  compare  those  beginnings  with  the  school  of  the 
present  day,  which  numbers  about  150.  For  35  years  the 
school  was  discontinued  through  the  winter,  but  the  last  10 
or  12  years  show  that  it  has  an  unbroken  life.  It  has  bad  a 
part  in  benevolent  contributions,  annually  for  9  years  pre- 
vious to  May,  1865  ;  since  which  time  by  weekly  collections. 
The  Fortieth  Anniversary  of  the  school  was  observed  in  1860. 

Such  is  a  cursory  glance  at  the  history  of  this  church,  ex- 
tending over  a  period  of  150  years.  It  has  had  its  trial 
scenes,  but  not  so  severe  as  many  of  the  early  planted 
churches.  It  lias  preserved,  nearly  complete,  its  original  ter- 
ritory, the  sole  occupant.  It  has  not  been  subjected  to  those 
unhappy  vicissitudes  which  are  incident  to  a  fluctuating  pop- 
ulation. Generations  have  come  up,  one  after  another,  adopt- 
ing, quite  generally,  the  same  form  of  christian  doctrine  and 
mode  of  worship,  thereby  preserving  unimpaired  the  strength 
and  numbers  of  the  church  ;  and  this,  doubtless,  is  to  be  at- 
tributed, in  a  great  measure,  under  God,  to  the  thorough 
doctrinal  inculcation  and  long  continued  labors  of  its  two 
early  pastors. 

Here  also  have  been  experienced,  from  time  to  time,  re- 
freshing seasons  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  enkindling 
anew  the  faith  and  the  zeal  of  the  church,  and  gathering 
spiritual  harvests  from  each  successive  generation. 

In  view  of  these  untold  blessings,  with  what  gratitude  and 
praise  to  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  should  we  remem- 
ber all  this  way.  God  hath  given  you  the  goodly  heritage. 
He  established  it  here  and  has  preserved  it  througli  more 
than  "the  third  and  fourth  generation,"   that  it   may  be   a 


27 

blessing  to  you  of  to-day.  Here,  on  this  day  of  commemo- 
ration, give  God  the  praise,  and  forget  never,  all  these  his 
benefits. 

Remember  also,  with  grateful  affection,  those  fathers  and 
mothers  in  Israel,  who,  at  whatever  point  in  all  this  way,  be 
it  earlier  or  later,  have  passed  on  before  you  to  their  Heaven- 
ly Father's  rest.  They  acted  and  planned  with  reference  to 
those  who  should  come  after.  For  you  they  labored,  for  you 
they  prayed.  Be  yours  the  grateful  heart,  the  affectionate 
remembrance  and  the  just  appreciation  of  their  self-denying 
exertions  in  behalf  of  this  beloved  Zion. 

Here  also  take  up  a  due  sense  of  your  own  responsibility. 
These  blessings  have  descended  to  you  by  vigilance  and  faith- 
fulness on  the  part  of  your  fathers.  Just  in  the  same  way 
must  these  blessings  pass  down  to  your  children  and  your 
children's  children.  The  inheritance,  handed  down  so  far  in 
its  integrity,  is  now  in  your  hands,  and  yours  is  the  responsi- 
bility of  transmitting  it,  unimpaired,  to  those  who  come  after 
you.  Be  mindful  then  of  this  solemn  and  weighty  responsi- 
bility ;  be  faithful  to  your  priceless  trust,  that  at  some  distant 
Anniversary  day,  fifty  and  a  hundred  years  hence,  it  may  be 
among  the  highest  sources  of  gratulation,  that  here,  even. 
your  day,  the  people  of  God  were  found  seekin^^h^Tjord  and 
Zion  was  made  to  prosper 


28 


TRIBUTE  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  REV.  THOMAS  BROCKWAY, 
ONE  OF  THE  PASTORS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

By  Doct.  0.  B.  Lyman,  Haetfobd. 

One  spot  dear  to  memory  let  us  turn  now  to  view, 

The  scenes  of  the  past  it  will  call  up  anew ; 

'Tis  that  spot  where  once  stood  the  house  for  God's  praise, 

Where  worshiped  the  fathers  in  eax'her  days. 

The  house  in  its  structure  was  ancient  and  plain. 

Its  pews  did  no  carpets  or  cushions  contain; 

No  soft  seated  sofa  its  pulpit  to  grace, 

No  costly  chandelier  to  light  up  the  place ; 

No  glowing  hot  furnace  to  displace  the  cold, 

Unknown  were  such  things  to  the  churches  of  old. 

As  an  aid  to  the  speaker's  laborious  tongue. 

O'er  his  head  a  broad  sounding  canopy  hung; 

And  perched  on  its  top  was  the  form  of  a  dove. 

An  olive  branch  bearing  the  emblem  of  love. 

There  first  in  the  pulpit  we,  hoary  heads,  saw 

An  advocate  stand  for  the  truth  of  God's  law. 

And  heard  him  prockiim  the  Gospel  of  Peace, 

To  the  mourner  a  solace ;  to  the  captive,  release. 

There  first  too  we  heard  from  the  "church  going  bell," 

The  saddening  deep  tones  of  a  funeral  knell; 

Or  its  call  on  the  Sabbath  for  such  as  inclined, 

To  go  up  to  the  temple  to  seek  food  for  the  mind. 

As  onward  time  sped  in  its  work  of  decay, 

There  arose  a  desire  for  modern  display; 

And  at  length  't  was  resolved  a  new  structure  to  raise. 

That  would  better  compare  with  the  taste  of  our  days ; 

But  the  site  of  the  former  most  lonely  is  left. 

And  of  all  that  was  sacred  seems  sadly  bereft. 

Mark  yonder  old  church-yard  where  all  is  at  rest. 
How  calmly  it  lies  there  declined  to  the  west ; 
This  sacred  spot  enter  with  reverent  tread, 
'Tis  a  place  of  reposit — a  rest  for  the  dead ; 
Our  fathers  sleep  there  awaiting  their  time. 
To  arise  and  put  on  immortality's  prime; 


29 

And  affection  has  reared  many  monuments  there, 
Breathed  many  a  sigh,  and  shed  many  a  tear, 
O'er  the  graves  of  its  kindred  where  silent  they  lie, 
While  angels  their  spirits  have  becked  up  on  high. 
How  often  we've  wandered  those  lone  graves  among. 
And  thought  of  that  numerous  celestial  bright  throng. 
Of  spirits  immortal  that  peacefully  roam, 
Through  the  elysian  fields  of  the  blest  spirit  home! 
Did  sometimes  the  question  then  seem  to  arise, 
"Do  these  spirits  roam  far  beyond  the  fair  skies? 
Or  do  they  draw  near  by  an  influx  of  soul, 
Our  thoughts  and  affections  for  good  to  control  ?" 

Mark  there  'mid  the  graves  of  his  people  appears. 

The  tombstone  of  Brockavay,  grown  mossy  with  years; 

Long,  long  has  he  lain  thei'e  beneath  the  cold  sod, 

Yes,  almost  forgotten,  that  servant  of  God. 

Now  could  he  to  earth  from  the  spirit-land  come. 

And  visit  the  spot  where  of  old  was  his  home, 

View  the  change  that  appears  on  the  old  village  green. 

Where  he  walked  in  his  day  with  dignified  mien, 

Find  the  temple  removed  where  he  anciently  stood, 

And  pictured  the  cross  stained  v/ith  innocent  blood,    . 

Old  structures  demolished  and  new  ones  upthrown. 

Familiar  old  faces  and  kindred  all  gone, — 

On  the  prospect  how  strangely  his  spirit  would  gaze, 

While  the  change  it  contrasted  with  primitive  days ! 


80 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

By  John  S.  Yeomans. 


The  second  or  new  Ecclesiastical  Society,  as  it  was  then 
sometimes  called,  was  incorporated  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Colony,  at  their  May  session  in  1716.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  Society  immediately  acted  in  the  matter  of  procuring 
a  minister,  but  we  have  no  record  evidence  preserved  for  the 
next  eight  years* 

The  first  entry  on  our  records  is  December  24th,  1724, 
when  "Mr.  Samuel  Smith  desired  the  Parish  that  he  might 
lay  down  his  Pastoral  office  to  which  they  consented  by  vote." 
Prom  that  date  to  the  present  time  we  have  a  continuous, 
unbroken  record  of  the  transactions  of  the  Society.  The  ter- 
ritorial limits  of  the  Society,  as  defined  at  that  time,  are  the 
same  as  the  present  boundaries  of  the  town ;  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  triangular  tract,  set  off  to  Andover,  on  the  forma- 
tion of  that  Society,  about  the  year  1748,  and  which  contained 
at  that  time  about  twenty-four  tax-payers,  as  appears  by  rate 
bills  extant.  The  main  portion  of  the  territory  was  included 
in  what  is  known  as  Clark  and  Dewey's  purchase,  and  Joseph 
Clark  and  Benony  Clark,  two  of  the  sons  of  William  Clark, 
the  Proprietor,  were  among  the  first  settlers,  and  were  tlio 
leading  men  of  the  Parish. 

The  first  acts  of  the  Parish  show  that  they  were  ^actuated  by 
the  same  spirit  that  sent  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  to  this  then  wild 
and  rock-bound  shore, — "Freedom  to  worship  God," — conse- 
quently the  Church  and  the  School  House  claimed  their 
earliest  attention ;  and  we  will  first  endeavor  to  trace  their 
foot-prints  in  this  direction. 


Bl 


MEETING   HOUSES. 

The  first  Meeting  House  was  raised  probably  some  time 
during  the  summer  of  1724. 

Where  the  Rev.  Samuel  Smith  held  his  meetings  we  have 
no  means  of  knowing,  but  probably  at  the  house  of  Joseph 
Clark. 

A  Parish  meeting  was  held  January  27th,  1725,  at  which 
meeting  they  "  Voted  to  give  the  Rev.  William  Gager  a  call 
to  settle  with  us  in  the  work  of  the  Ministry;"  they  also 
"voted  to  remove  the  meeting  to  the  house  of  Benony  Clark." 

At  a  Parish  meeting  held  December  15th,  1725,  they  "voted 
to  John  Mory  twelve  shillings  for  sweeping  the  Meeting 
House."  This  is  the  first  record  we  have  in  regard  to  a 
Meeting  House.  It  was  probably  covered  and  the  floor  laid 
and  occupied  during  the  summer  for  worship  on  the  Sabbath. 

At  a  Parish  meeting  December  1 4th,  1726,  "voted  to  make 
provision  for  laying  the  gallery  floors,  and  for  making  the 
stairs  and  finishing  the  coving  and  building  the  breast  work 
of  the  gallery,  and  for  making  steps  for  the  three  doors,  and 
appointed  Henry  Woodward,  Lieutenant  Martin,  and  Josiah 
Lyman,  to  manage  the  affair;  also,  voted  to  Deacon  Wright 
one  pound  for  sweeping  the  Meeting  House."  * 

December  26th,  1728,  "voted  to  procure  boards  to  seal  the 
Meeting  House,  and  for  the  pews,  and  slit  work  for  the  galle- 
ries and  pews,  and  all  other  stuff  needful  for  the  work." 

December  4th,  1730,  "  voted  to  do  something  towards  finish- 
ing the  Meeting  House." 

November  3d,  1731,  "voted  to  finish  the  seats  and  plaster 
the  walls  of  the  Meeting  House ;  Captain  Sprague,  Lieutenant 
Woodward,  and  Sarjeant  Daggit  to  see  the  work  executed." 

During  the  season  of  1732,  it  seems  that  the  Parish  had  so 
far  completed  their  first  Meeting  House  that  at  a  special  meet- 
ing held  January  10,  1733,  "  they  voted  to  Seat  the  Meeting 
House." 

As  this  is  a  practice  that  has  almost  universally  gone  out  of 
use,  I  give,  as  a  curiosity,  the  entire  record  of  this  meeting. 


32 

"  Made  choice  of  John  Sims,  Joseph  Clark,  and  Thomas 
Woodward  to  be  a  committee  to  seat  tlie  Meeting  House. 
Voted  that  no  man  shall  be  brought  lower  than  he  was  seated 
before. 

Voted  that  the  seaters  should  reckon  one,  and  but  one  head 
to  each  list. 

Voted  to  seat  the  Meeting  House  by  the  last  Rate  or  List. 

Voted  to  vallew  one  year's  age  to  two  shillings  in  the  rate. 

Voted  that  the  pews  next  to  the  great  door  shall  be  vallewed 
next  to  the  first  or  highest  pews,  and  those  by  the  stairs  equal 
to  the  second  seat ;  the  fore  seat  in  the  front  to  be  equal  to 
the  second  seat  in  the  body  of  the  Meeting  House,  and  the 
fore  seat  in  the  side  gallery,  to  be  equal  to  the  sixth  seat. 

At  the  same  time  they  made  choice  of  Deacon  Wright, 
Captain  Sprague  and  Sarjeant  Lyman  to  be  a  committee  to 
seat  the  seators." 

At  the  same  time  they  "  voted  that  Samuel  Woodward,  Israel 
Woodward,  William  Simes,  Noah  Dewey,  Samuel  Wright  and 
Preserved  Wright,  shall  have  liberty  to  build  themselves  a 
seat  or  seats,  a  pew  or  pews,  for  them  and  their  families,  in 
the  front  gallery,  behind  those  seats  that  are  already  built ;  to 
be  built  at  their  own  charge  ;  and  also  be  debarred  from  any 
other^seat  in  the  Meeting  House ;  they  to  have  all  the  room 
that  is  behind  the  scats  that  are  now  built." 

With  the  gradation  of  the  pews,  the  definite  property  quali- 
fications as  determined  by  the  last  list  by  which  they  were  to 
be  seated,  a  committee  of  their  own  choice  to  seat  them,  and 
a  sub-committee  to  seat  the  seators,  it  would  seem  that  they 
might  worship  in  their  new  house  with  quiet  minds  and  con- 
tented spirits.  February  8th,  1733,  less  than  a  month  from 
the  time  of  the  appointment  of  the  seating  committee,  another 
meeting  is  called,  and  it  is  "  voted  that  the  pew  by  the  great 
door  in  the  Meeting  House,  shall  be  reconed  equal  to  the  fore 
seat  and  corner  pew ;  and  also  voted  to  accept  of  what  the 
seating  committee  had  done."  Whether  the  pew  by  the  great 
door  was  not  sufiiciently  dignified,  or  those  who  were  assigned 
to  it  were  degraded,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  At  any 
rate  it  seems  that  a  vote  of  the  Society  was  needed  to  give 


characteristic  dignity,  either  to  the  pew  or  people ;  and  we 
need  not  smile  at  this  act  of  our  ancestors,  for  similar  devel- 
opments of  human  nature  exist  to-day. , 

The  size  of  this  Meeting  House  is  not  known.  It  was 
probably  about  forty  or  fifty  feet  in  length  and  breadth,  as  the 
votes  show  that  there  were  galleries  on  three  sides,  wide 
enough  to  have  pews  built  back  of  the  seats,  which  could  not 
be  done  in  a  house  of  less  dimensions. 

It  was  probably  a  rude  building  at  best,  as  is  usually  the 
case  with  pioneer  settlers,  for  in  November,  1733,  they  "  voted 
to  repair  the  windows,  both  wood  and  glass,  and  also  to  make 
new  steps;  also  to  give  liberty  to  Joseph  Loomis,  John  Sims, 
and  Benony  Loomis,  to  build  themselves  a  pew  over  the 
women's  stairs,*  not  hurting  the  stairway  nor  the  window." 
This  last  vote  was  probably  not  carried  out,  for  in  November, 
1740,  "the  Parish  Committee  were  authorized  to  grant  liberty 
to  Nathaniel  White,  Jun'r,  John  Payne,  with  sundry  others 
to  build  a  seat  or  pew  over  the  women's  stairs,  as  they  think 
proper  ;  also  voted  to  fill  up  the  broad  alley  with  seats  and  to 
take  down  the  coving  of  the  Meeting  House  ;"  and  in  1744, 
"  to  fill  up  the  aisles  at  the  east  end  of  the  Meeting  House." 

At  a  Parish  meeting,  November  22d,  1744,  probably  about 
twenty  years  only  from  the  time  the  first  house  was  raised, 
the  proposition  to  build  a  new  one  was  brought  before  the 
Parish,  and  they  voted  in  the  negative ;  also,  at  the  same 
time  "  voted  not  to  repair  or  make  addition  to  the  old  one." 
But  the  Great  Awakening  of  1741  had  passed  over  New  Eng- 
land. The  new  Pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Wheelock,  was  active  in  it ; 
his  people  had  shared  largely  in  its  blessing,  and  the  church 
accommodations  were  insufficient  for  the  thronging  multitude 
which  each  returning  Sabbath  brought  to  its  courts. 

Consequently  at  their  annual  meeting  the  next  year,  Nov. 
21st,  1745,  they  "  voted  to  make  some  provision  for  building 
a  new  Meeting  House  and  to  make  repairs  upon  the  old  one 
for  present  comfort."  The  location  of  tliis  house  is  learned 
from  the  location  of  the  second  which  was  determined  by  a 
committee  appointed  by  the  Legislature  in  1747,  to  "  ascer- 
tain and  fix  a  place  to  set  a  Meeting  House  upon,  among  us." 


84 

This  committee  reported  that  they  had  stuck  a  stake  about 
ten  rods  south  of  the  present  Meeting  House  on  the  common, 
— the  sills  of  the  house  to  enclose  the  stake.  This  Meeting 
House,  as  many  of  us  will  remember,  stood  in  front  of  the 
present  dwelling  house  of  Mr.  John  Armstrong,  consequently 
the  first  Meeting  House  stood  about  where  the  school  house 
now  stands  and  most  probably  on  the  same  grovind. 

In  1747  "The  Society  voted  to  build  a  new  Meeting  House, 
64  feet  in  length  and  46  feet  in  width  and  26  feet  in  height  from 
the  top  of  the  sill  to  the  underside  of  the  plate.  Also  voted  to 
get  the  timber,  hew,  and  frame  and  raise  it,  cover  the  roof 
and  board  the  outside  and  provide  timber,  either  pine  or 
ceder,  for  the  window  frames,  by  the  first  day  of  Dec.  1748, 
and  also  voted  a  tax  of  two  shillings  upon  the  pound  towards 
defraying  the  charges  of  the  Meeting  House,  also  a  tax  of  13 
pence  on  the  pound  for  Parish  charges,  and  appointed  Captain 
Joseph  Clark,  Ensign  Nathaniel  Cushman,  and  Lieutenant 
Benajah  Bill,  a  committee  to  carry  on  the  work  of  building, 
so  far  as  they  have  agreed  to  do  it." 

In  August,  1748,  "  Voted  to  clapboard  the  south  side  and 
the  ends  with  Ceder,  and  the  back  side  with  Chestnut,  and  to 
do  it  this  fall."  I  record  this  fact  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
the  care  bestowed  by  the  Parish  in  the  selection  of  the  build- 
ing material  of  this  house.  These  clapboards  were  still  on  the 
house  when  it  was  taken  down  in  1832,  eighty-four  years  from 
the  time  they  were  put  on  ;  and  it  was  thought  by  many  better 
to  remodel  and  repair  the  old  house  than  to  build  new,  be- 
cause the  outside  covering  was  so  good  ;  as  many  of  us  well 
recollect.  Oct.  5th,  1749,  "voted  to  improve  the  old  Meeting 
House  toward  finishing  the  new  one,  either  by  sale  or  any 
other  way ;"  and  in  Sept.  1751,  "  voted  to  finish  the  house 
within  two  years." 

"Also  appointed  Joseph  Clark,  Benajah  Bill  and  Nathaniel 
Cushman  to  carry  on  the  work." 

The  probability  is  that  the  Sabbath  worship  was  held  in  the 
new  house  at  this  time,  as  a  vote  was  passed  to  seat  the 
Meeting;  House. 


36 

In  December,  1753,  "  voted  to  Collour  the  Meeting  House 
sky  collour  and  also  to  pave  round  it  with  round  stone  or  flatt 
and  to  make  such  alterations  in  seating  as  the  Com'y  think 
proper." 

In  Dec.  5th,  1754,  a  Parish  meeting  was  held,  at  which  time 
they  "voted  to  settle  with  the  meeting  house  committee  at  this 
meeting.  The  accounts  were  cast  up  and,  errors  excepted, 
amounted  to  £4458  Is.  Ur  (114,860.00.)  This  certainly 
shows  a  good  degree  of  energy  and  perseverance  in  a  small 
parish  with  but  170  tax  payers,  as  appears  by  old  town  and 
Parish  rate  Bills  of  that  day. 

In  the  year  1792,  a  Steeple  was  erected  and  a  Bell  pro- 
cured by  subscribers  at  a  cost  of  $150.00.  The  vote  of  the 
Parish  is  as  follows :  "  Voted,  to  give  liberty  to  the  subscri- 
bers for  building  a  Steeple,  to  erect  one  and  annex  it  to  the 
west  end  of  the  Meeting  House,  and  furnish  it  with  a  Bell, 
and  if  so  erected  and  furnished  with  a  Bell,  the  society  will 
receive  it  as  theirs  and  afterwards  keep  it  in  repair." 

From  the  time  the  Steeple  was  erected,  Mr.  David  Hun- 
tington was  Bell  ringer,  till  his  death  in  1828  ;  a  period  of  36 
years ;  and  no  man  was  ever  more  attached  to  Idol  than  was 
he  to  the  Bell.  At  12  o'clock  at  noon  and  9  o'clock  P.  M. 
year  in  and  year  out,  the  tones  of  this  Bell  moved  by  his  arm 
would  be  heard  by  the  people.  And  if,  (as  was  often  the 
case,)  some  urchin  on  mischief  bent,  could  fmd  his  way  into 
the  Meeting  House  and  commence  ringing  the  Bell,  no  night 
was  so  dark,  no  storm  so  pelting,  but  that  the  old  man  would 
hasten  to  the  Meeting  House,  and  rest  not  till  every  window 
and  door  was  examined  and  secured.  Wo  !  to  the  wight  who 
should  chance  to  be  caught.  But  the  agile  feet  of  youth 
were  usually  too  fleet,  and  seldom  were  they  caught.  Yet  I 
appreliend  that  more  than  one  who  liears  me  to-day,  would, 
if  that  faithful,  honest  and  good  old  man  were  to  rise  from 
his  grave  and  appear  in  our  midst,  feel  like  asking  his  for- 
giveness for  the  annoyance  which,  in  the  hilarity  and  thought- 
lessness of  youth,  they  had  caused  him. 

Of  the  present  Meeting  House  I  propose  to  say  but  little, 
as  all  the  people  of  middle  age  are  acquainted  with  the  facts 


36 

connected  with  it.  Aug.  29th,  1831,  a  Society  meeting  was 
held  and  "  voted  to  request  the  Committee  to  warn  a  meeting 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  tax  to  repair  the  Meeting  House. 
Also  voted  that  Deacon  Lyman  be  requested  to  address  the 
society  on  the  subject  of  a  Meeting  House,"  and  adjourned  to 
Sept.  12th,  when  a  committee  was  appointed  "  to  make  a 
draft  of  a  Meeting  House."  At  a  subsequent  meeting,  Sam- 
uel Little,  Esq.,  Samuel  West,  Jr.,  Daniel  Hunt,  Erastus 
Post,  George  Loomis  and  Chester  Bliss  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  superintend  the  building  of  the  House.  They  were 
to  use  the  old  house  in  the  construction  of  the  new  one. 

A  contract  was  made,  and  the  work  commenced  in  tlie 
Spring  of  1882,  and  the  house  was  completed  and  dedicated 
the  same  Pall. 

Its  length  is  58  feet.     Breadth  42  feet. 

The  whole  expense  for  their  house  was        -     $2,015.92 

For  the  land  on  which  it  stands,  -  75.00 


$2,090.92 
This  sum  was  paid  by  subscription ;  the  name  of  each  sub- 
scriber and  amount  given  being  entered  on  the  Society  Re- 
cords. 

In  the  Spring  of  1850,  this  House  was  thoroughly  repaired, 
the  roof  shingled,  the  outside  painted,  the  windows  on  the 
East  end  closed  up  and  chimneys  built  from  the  ground, 
supports  placed  under  the  steeple,  the  lathing  and  plastering 
over  head  renewed  and  whitewashed,  the  desk  remodeled  and 
the  inside  painted  and  varnished,  with  other  repairs,  at  a  cost 
of  $535.79,  which  was  paid  by  subscription  ;  the  names  of  the 
donors  and  amount  given  by  each  being  entered  on  the  Soci- 
eties books.  * 

In  addition  to  this,  the  Ladies  Benevolent  Association  fur- 
nished the  house  with  window  blinds,  trimming  for  the  desk, 
and  carpeted  the  aisles,  and  the  young  men  furnished  the 
Sofa  for  the  desk. 


3T 


SKETCH  OF  MINISTERS  FROM  THIS  PARISH. 

BY  THE  PASTOE. 

John  Smalley  was  born  in  Lebanon  Crank,  June  4,  1734. 
He  was  the  son  of  Benjarriin  and  Mary  Smalley,  both  mem- 
bers of  this  church.  When  he  was  six  years  old  he  heard 
Mr.  Whitfield  preach,  and  his  young  heart  was  deeply  moved; 
but  his  most  permanent  religious  impressions  were  received 
on  discovering  his  eminently  devoted  mother,  "at  a  certain 
time,  as  he  entered  an  apartment  of  the  house,  in  a  dark  cor- 
ner, in  a  kneeling  posture,  engaged,  as  he  supposed  in  prayer." 
That  scene  never  went  from  him  through  all  his  manhood. 
He  was  fitted  for  college  by  his  pastor,  Mr.  Wheelock,  and 
was  graduated  at  Yale  College,  in  1756.  He  was.licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Litchfield  South  Association,  in  1757,  and  in 
Nov.  of  that  year  he  began  to  preach  in  Berlin,  now  the  first 
church  in  New  Britain,  where  he  was  ordained  pastor,  at  the 
time  of  the  organization  of  the  church,  April  19, 1758.  There 
he  continued  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his 
office  till  the  autumn  of  1808,  a  little  more  than  50  years, 
though  he  preached  occasionally  till  Sept.  1813.  He  received 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  in  1800. 

Dr.  Smalley  was  one  of  the  prominent  Theologians  of  his 
day,  distinguished  both  as  a  teacher  of  Theological  students 
and  as  a  standard  writer.  He  published  two  volumes  of  ser- 
mons ;  the  first  volume  in  1803,  and  the  second  in  1814  ;  also 
six  other  sermons,  two  of  which,  on  natural  and  moral  ina- 
bility, were  republished  in  London.  He  died  June  1,  1820, 
aged  86,  having  held  the  pastoral  office  62  years. 

Bezaleel  Woodward,  who  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel 
but  not  ordained,  was  born  in  1745,  and  was  graduated  at 
Yale  College  in  1764.  He  became  the  first  Prof,  of  Mathe- 
matics in  Dartmouth  College.     He  died  in  1804,  aged  60. 

Samuel  Collins  was  born  in  1747.     Having  worked  at  his 
trade  till  he  was  past  twenty-one  years  old,  he  commenced  a 
course  of  study,  and  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
5 


38 

1775.  He  was  ordained  pastor  in  Sandown,  New  Hampshire, 
Dejc.  27,  1780.  He  was  dismissed  April  30,  1788,  and  in 
Nov.  following  was  installed  over  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
Hanover  Center,  New  Hampshire.  This  church,  being  but  a 
remnant  of  that  from  which  the  majority  had  been  taken  by 
the  former  pastor,  "  his  ministry  there  was  beset  by  trials. 
He  was,  however,  universally  esteemed  as  a  devoted  and  ex- 
cellent christian  minister."  He  was  again  dismissed  in  1795 ; 
and,  after  a  brief  ministry  in  Craffcsbury,  he  died  in  that 
town  Jan.  7,  1807,  at  the  age  of  59. 

Daniel  Crocker  was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1782, 
and  was  licensed  by  the  New  Haven  West  Association,  in 
1788.  He  was  settled  in  Redding  in  Oct.,  1809,  where  he  re- 
mained till  Oct.,  1824.  He  was  again  settled  in  New  Fair- 
field in  Oct.,  1827,  and  died  in  March,  1831. 

Walter  Harris  was  born  in  1761,  the  son  of  Nathaniel  and 
Grace  Harris.  He  served  three  years  in  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution, his  only  brother  falling  a  sacrifice  in  that  struggle, 
and  was  honorably  discharged  when  less  than  nineteen  years 
old.  He  removed  to  Lebanon,  New  Hampshire,  where  he 
came  under  the  influence  of  a  powerful  revival  of  religion, 
and  gaining  satisfactory  evidence  of  his  conversion,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  was  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  College,  in  1787.  Having  studied  Theology  with 
Dr.  Emmons,  he  was  ordained  pastor  of  a  church  which  he 
was  instrumental  in  organizing  in  Dunbarton,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Aug.  26,  1789.  He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  from  Dartmouth  College,  in  1826. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  said  to  be  "mighty  in  the  scriptures. 
He  uttered  himself  with  a  deep  solemnity  that  showed  that 
he  never  lost  sight  of  his  own  final  account.  He  chose  out 
acceptable  words,  but  they  were  charged  with  an  energy 
which  it  was  not  easy  to  resist."  One  of  his  hearers  once 
said,  "every  sermon  of  his  is  a  broad-axe,  cutting  away  every 
refuge  of  lies,  and  laying  prostrate  every  thing  that  exalteth 
itself  against  the  knowledge  of  God."  He  received  many 
young  men  as  Theological  students,  who  ever  after  held  him 
in  the  highest  estimation,  as  a  man  and  as  an  instructor. 


39 

Towards  the  close  of  his  active  duties  as  pastor,  we  have 
this  testimony  concerning  him  from  one  who  is  remembered 
by  some  here  to-day,  as  a  school-master  in  Hop  River  District, 
Rev.  Dr.  Barstow,  of  Keene,  New  Hampshire  ;  his  words  are, 
"  I  was  struck  in  those  days  with  his  deep  humility  and  un- 
wavering confidence  in  God,  with  his  comprehensive  views  of 
the  christian  system,  and  the  facility  with  which  he  could  put 
to  silence  the  ignorances  of  foolish  men.  I  could  not  but 
feel  that  he  was  a  master  in  Israel,  and  that  it  was  good  to 
sit  at  his  feet  and  listen  to  his  instruction."  And  this  same 
witness  recalls  these  words  spoken  to  him  by  Dr.  Harris  when 
at  Saratoga  for  the  benefit  of  his  health  : — "  I  told  my  people 
the  last  Sabbath,  that  I  had  done  ;  that  I  had  cared  for  them 
for  more  than  forty  years,  without  leaving  them  unsupplied 
for  many  Sabbaths,  and  that  now  they  must  take  care  of 
themselves  ;  that  I  hoped  they  would  hold  fast  the  doctrines 
which  I  preached,  for  I  verily  believed  they  were  the  truth  of 
God,  and  I  would  willingly  risk  my  own  soul  upon  them. 
The  people  were  somewhat  affected,  and  I  too  was  affected 
with  the  thought  that  I  must  meet  them  at  the  bar  of  God. 
I  warned  them  to  meet  me  as  the  disciples  of  Christ,  that  I 
might  not  be  a  swift  witness  against  them."'  After  these 
forty  years'  labors  he  was  not  able  to  continue  the  active  du- 
ties of  the  ministry,  yet  he  remained  with  his  people  till  his 
death,  Dec.  25,  1843,  at  the  age  of  82.  Fifteen  of  his  ser- 
mons were  published,  also  an  address  before  the  Pastoral 
Convention  of  New  Hampshire. 

Ezra  Woodworth  was  born  in  1765.  He  was  graduated  at 
Dartmouth  College  in  1788  ;  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  first 
church  in  Winsted,  Jan.  2,  1792  ;  was  dismissed  in  1799,  and 
died  in  1836,  aged  71. 

Joel  West,  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  West,  was  born  March 
12,  1766.  He  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  hi  1789, 
and  ordained  pastor  of  the  third  church  in  Chatliam,  (now 
East  Hampton,)  in  Oct.,  1792.  He  remained  the  esteemed 
and  faithful  pastor  of  that  church  till  his  death,  in  Nov.,  1826, 
at  the  age  of  60. 

Bezaleel  Pinneo,  sou  of  Deacon  James  and  Jerusha  Piuneo, 


40 

was  born  July  28,  1769.  He  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
College  in  1791  ;  studied  Theology  with  Dr.  Smalley  ;  was 
licensed  by  the  Hartford  South  Association  in  Oct.,  1793, 
and  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  first  church  in  Milford,  Oct. 

26,  1796.  While  pursuing  his  labors  as  pastor,  he  acted,  for 
a  time,  as  instructor  of  students  of  Theology,  among  whom 
was  the  distinguished  Evangelist,  Rev.  Dr.  Nettleton,  remem- 
bered by  some  who  are  here  to-day,  as  preaching  for  a  few 
Sabbaths  before  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Kittredge.  Mr.  Pin- 
neo  remained  in  the  active  duties  of  the  pastoral  office  forty- 
three  years,  very  widely  known  and  respected,  as  excellent 
in  judgment  and  earnestly  devoted  to  his  work.  Bearing  the 
infirmities  of  age  for  nearly  ten  years,  he  died  among  his 
people  Sept.  18,  1849,  aged  80. 

Diodate  Brockway,  second  son  and  third  child  of  Rev. 
Thomas  and  Eunice  Brockway,  was  born  Dec.  29, 1776.  He 
was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1797,  united  with  this 
church  in  Sept.,  1798,  studied  Theology  with  Rev.  Elijah 
Parsons  of  East  Haddam,  was  licensed  by  the  Middlesex  As- 
sociation, Oct.  3, 1798,  and  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Ellington,  Sept.  19,  1799.  He  retained  the  pastoral  office 
fifty  years,  though  by  reason  of  his  infirmities  he  had  the  as- 
sistance of  colleagues  the  last  eighteen  years.  He  was  a  Fel- 
low of  Yale  College  from  1827  till  his  death.     He  died  Jan. 

27,  1849,  aged  72.  He  published  a  sermon;- preached  at  the 
funeral  of  Deacon  Gurdon  Elsworth,  1803 ;  another  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Meeting  House  in  Ellington  in  1806  ;  a  ser- 
mon before  the  Missionary  Society  of  Connecticut ;  an  Elec- 
tion sermon  in  1818,  and  a  New  Year's  sermon  in  1828. 

Jacob  Allen,  son  of  Timothy  and  Mary  Allen,  was  born 
Aug.  18,  1781.  While  studying  with  Rev.  E.  T.  Woodruff, 
in  North  Coventry,  he  hopefully  became  a  subject  of  divine 
grace,  and  turned  his  thoughts  towards  the  ministry.  He 
was  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1811,  studied  Theol- 
ogy with  Dr.  Burton  of  Thetford,  Vt.,  was  licensed  by  Orange 
Association,  and  ordained  pastor  at  Tunbridge,  Yt.,  in  Oct., 
1813.  He  was  dismissed  in  1820  and  installed  in  Eastbury 
in  July,  1822.     Being   dismissed  in  1835,  he  was   installed 


41 

over  the  church  of  Voluntown  and  Sterling  Oct.  11,  1837, 
where  he  remained  until  Nov.  15,  1849,  when  he  was  dis- 
missed and  supplied  the  church  in  Long  Society  in  Pres- 
ton for  one  year,  after  which  he  returned  to  his  last  charge, 
supplying  the  pulpit  there  until  he  died,  March  13,  1856,  at 
the  age  of  75. 

He  is  described,  in  a  sermon  preached  at  his  funeral  by  Rev. 
Henry  Robinson,  as  "  a  sound  and  able  Theologian,  an  ear- 
nest and  instructive  preacher  ;  eminently  gifted  in  prayer,  a 
faithful  and  devoted  pastor,  a  wise  and  safe  counsellor ;  given 
to  hospitality,  remarkable  for  humility,  most  affectionate  and 
exemplary  in  domestic  relations,  interested  in  benevolent 
operations."  He  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  periodicals 
and  newspapers,  both  secular  and  religious.  He  preached  the 
sermon  at  the  dedication  of  this  house. 

Alfred  Wright,  son  of  Jeriah  and  Temperance  Wright,  was 
born  March  1,  1788.  He  is  spoken  of  while  a  child  as  being 
of  a  sober,  thoughtful  turn  of  mind,  and  possessed  of  an  un- 
commonly studious  disposition.  His  father,  with  limited 
means,  and  with  a  family  of  eleven  children,  could  not  gratify 
his  thirst  for  knowledge.  He  repeatedly  expressed  his  desire 
to  obtain  an  education  and  become  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
even  before  he  was  satisfied  of  his  conversion.  With  feeble 
health,  and  in  the  face  of  formidable  obstacles,  he  pursued  his 
course  of  preparatory  studies  at  the  Colchester  Academy,  and 
joined  the  sophomore  class  in  Williams  College,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  1812.  Thus  far,  not  regarding  himself  as  a 
Christian,  his  mind  was  directed  to  the  study  of  medicine,  and 
by  his  occasional  reading  of  medical  books,  he  gained  an 
amount  of  information  that  qualified  him  to  render  essential 
medical  service  in  the  field  of  his  future  labors.  But  a  few 
months  before  his  graduation  he  was  reckoned  among  the 
fruits  of  a  revival  in  College,  and  from  that  time  he  enter- 
tained the  design  of  entering  the  ministry,  and,  if  it  was  the 
clear  indication  of  providence,  of  engaging  in  a  foreign  mis- 
sion. Wliile  connected  with  the  Andover  Tlieological  Sem- 
inary, he  was  also  engaged  as  instructor  in  Phillips  Academy. 
Being  appointed  tutor  in  Williams  College,  he  entered  upon 


42 

the  duties  of  that  oJSfice  in  October,  1814.  Yisitiiig  home  in 
the  winter  of  1815,  he  was  prostrated  with  sickness,  and  the 
disease  was  of  such  a  nature  that  but  little  hope  was  enter- 
tained of  restoration  to  an  active  and  useful  life.  He  turned 
towards  the  south  for  his  health,  and  was  able  to  take  charge 
of  a  Female  Academy  in  Raleigh,  North  Carolina.  In  the 
winter  of  1818,  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  on  the  17th  of 
December,  1819,  he  was  ordained  as  an  Evangelist,  in  the 
Circular  Church,  Charleston,  by  the  Congregational  Associa- 
tion of  South  Carolina.  At  the  same  time  was  ordained  Jonas 
King,  the  now  veteran  missionary,  lately  from  his  great  life- 
work  in  Athens.  Mr.  Wright  turns  from  a  call  to  settle  in 
Charleston  to  the  Choctaws  in  Elliot,  Georgia,  and  thus  he 
enters  upon  the  life  of  missionary  toil  to  which  he  had  looked 
forward,  though  in  a  field  different  from  that  which  he  had 
anticipated.  Ten  years  he  spent  with  the  Choctaws  before 
their  removal  beyond  the  Mississippi,  having  the  care  of  a 
church,  conducting  schools,  preparing  elementary  school 
books  in  the  native  language,  and  in  time  of  sickness  being 
in  constant  demand  for  medical  attention  and  advice.  On  the 
removal  of  the  Indians  to  their  present  territory  in  1831,  some 
of  the  missionaries  retired  from  the  field,  but  Mr.  Wright  was 
among  those  who,  in  com]3liance  with  the  earnest  entreaties 
of  the  Indians,  and  in  obedience  to  a  sense  of  duty,  accom- 
panied them  to  their  new  home.  He  entered  his  new  field  of 
labor  in  September,  1832,  and  selected  a  site  which  he  called 
Wheelock,  in  memory  of  the  former  pastor  of  his  native  town. 
A  church  was  organized  on  the  second  Sabbath  in  December, 
1832,  with  thirty-seven  members.  And  here,  as  his  central 
point,  do  we  find  him  for  the  next  twenty  years,  toiling  on  in 
patience  and  hope,  and  often  with  the  most  cheering  success ; 
all  the  while  "with  a  feeble  frame,  never  without  pain,  unable 
to  walk  more  than  a  few  rods,  or  raise  with  his  hands  more 
than  a  few  pounds  weight." 

But  the  great  labor  of  his  life  was  the  translation  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  into  the  Choctaw  language.  Upon  this  the 
full  energies  of  his  mind  and  body  were  bent.  It  was  his 
earnest  wish  to  finish  translating  the  Bible,  but  this  was  too 


43 

great  a  work  for  one  man,  with  all  the  difficulties  which  em- 
barrassed him  ;  at  the  same  time  superintending  the  scliools, 
and  having  the  care  of  two  or  three  churches.  By  diligent 
application  he  carried  the  work  of  translation  through  the 
New  Testament,  and  from  Genesis  to  Job,  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. His  motto,  in  his  own  words,  was,  "  Labor,  incessant 
labor  on  earth,  and  rest,  eternal  rest  in  heaven."  Nor  was 
his  labor  in  vain.  Sometimes  forty  and  sixty  or  seventy  in  a 
year  would  be  reckoned  among  the  converts  within  his  par- 
ticular field  of  labor. 

The  great  secret  of  his  success  was  that  "  he  walked  with 
God."  His  spirit  of  devotion  and  of  Christian  solicitude  for 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  others  is  breathed  forth,  especially  in 
his  early  letters  home,  when,  as  a  son  and  brother,  he  faith- 
fully and  affectionately  and  personally  exhorted  and  entreated 
his  friends  all  to  make  Christ  their  Saviour,  and  to  engage 
with  their  full  energies  in  his  service.  He  always  retained 
an  affectionate  remembrance  of  his  native  place,  and  of  this 
churcli,  inquiring  after  its  welfare,  rejoicing  with  it  in  its  sea- 
sons of  refreshing,  and  bearing  it  on  his  prayers  before  the 
throne  of  grace.  He  died  March  31,  1853,  aged  sixty-five, 
peacefully  committing  all  to  his  Saviour,  saying,  "  Good  is 
the  will  of  the  Lord  concerning  me."  He  had  no  more  to  do 
but  to  lie  down  and  die.  He  was  in  his  master's  work,  and 
ready  for  Heaven  every  day.  When  the  word  came  to  go  up 
higher,  he  just  ceased  his  labors  and  obeyed. 

"  Servant  of  God,  well  done, 
Rest  from  thy  loved  employ, 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won,"^ 
Enter  thy  Master's  joy." 

James  D.  Chapman  was  born  in  May,  1799,  was  graduated 
at  Yale  College,  in  1826,  preached  one  year  in  Prospect,  and 
was  settled  over  the  church  in  Wolcott,  in  1833.  He  was 
dismissed  in  1840,  and  afterwards  settled  in  Cummington, 
Mass.,  where  he  died  December  19,  1854,  aged  fifty-five. 

Daniel  Hunt,  son  of  Daniel  and  Submit  Hunt,  was  gradua- 
ted at  Amherst  College,  in  1828,  studied  theology  at  Andover 
Seminary,  and  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church  in  Pomfret, 


44 

April  8, 1835,  where  he  still  resides,  although  dismissed  from 
his  charge,  and  from  feeble  health  no  longer  able  to  fulfill  the 
duties  of  the  ministry.  He  has  published  a  historical  sermon  ; 
also,  valuable  historical  papers  in  connection  with  the  150th 
anniversary  of  the  church  in  Pomfret,  which  was  duly  com- 
memorated October  26th,  1865. 

Amasa  Dewey,  son  of  Asahel  and  Lucina  Dewey,  was  born 
March  12,  1804,  united  with  this  church  in  1821,  and  was 
graduated  at  Yale  College,  in  1832.  He  studied  theology  at 
East  Windsor  Seminary,  was  licensed  by  the  New  Haven  East 
Association,  in  1838,  and  ordained  pastor  in  Petersham,  Mass., 
January  11,  1837,  where  he  died  January  5,  1840,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-five.  A  small  volume  of  practical  sermons,  from  his 
pen,  was  published  after  his  death. 

Ansel  Dewey,  son  of  Asahel  and  Lucina  Dewey,  was  born 
August  9,  1809,  and  united  with  this  church  in  1831.  He 
studied  theology  at  East  Windsor  Seminary,  was  licensed  by 
the  Hartford  North  Association,  December  14th,  1836,  but, 
before  assuming  any  pastoral  charge,  died  August  6th,  1838, 
aged  twenty-nine. 

Charles  Little,  son  of  Samuel  and  Jerusha  Little,  was  grad- 
uated at  Yale  College,  in  1844,  a  classmate  of  the  present 
pastor.  He  studied  theology  at  New  Haven,  united  with  this 
church  in  1847,  and  was  ordained,  in  this  house,  September 
1st,  1847  ;  sermon  by  Rev.  Joel  Hawes,  D.  D.,  of  Hartford. 
He  entered  upon  the  missionary  work  in  the  year  1848,  and 
labored  faithfully  and  successfully  at  several  stations  in  the 
Madura  Mission,  until  1859,  when,  by  reason  of  impaired 
health,  he  returned  to  this  country,  relinquishing  the  foreign 
field.  Having,  in  good  measure,  regained  his  health,  he  was 
installed  pastor  of  the  church  in  Cheshire,  January  1st,  1862. 
Since  leaving  Cheshire,  he  has  been  engaged  with  the  first 
church  in  Woodbury,  where  he  is  now  laboring. 


45 


HISTORICAL  PAPEBS. 

By  John  S.  Yeomans. 


The  first  vote  of  the  Parish  in  regard  to  Education,  is  Jan- 
uary 6th,  1732,  when  they  made  choice  of  "  Captain  Ephraim 
Sprague,  Nehemiah  Closson  and  Deacon  Wright,  to  be  a 
school  committee  to  receive  our  part  of  the  country  money, 
and  to  lay  it  out  at  their  discretion,  for  the  instruction  of 
Children  in  the  Parish."  From  this  date  forward  regularly 
at  the  annual  meetings  a  like  committee  was  appointed  till 
1798,  when  the  organization  of  school  societies  took  the  place 
of  towns  and  ecclesiastical  societies,  in  our  school  system. 
That  we  may  better  understand  this  matter,  perhaps  a  brief 
digest  of  our  school  laws  during  the  period  of  our  150  years 
of  ecclesiastical  life  may  be  appropriate. 

From  1701  to  1800  the  law  of  the  Colony  may  be  summed, 
up  as  follows : 

1st.  An  obligation  on  every  parent  and  guardian  of  children, 
"  not  to  suffer  any  child  or  apprentice  to  grow  up  in  their 
families,  unable  to  read  the  holy  word  of  God  and  the  good 
laws  of  the  Colony,  under  penalty  for  each  offence. 

2d,  A  tax  of  forty  shillings  on  every  £1,000  of  the  lists  of 
estates,  collected  with  the  annual  State  tax,  and  payable  pro- 
portionately to  those  towns  only  which  should  keep  schools 
according  to  law. 

3d.  A  common  school  in  every  town  of  seventy  families  or 
over,  to  be  kei)t  through  the  year,  and  in  towns  of  less  than 
seventy  families,  at  least  six  months  in  the  year. 

4th.  A  Grammar  School  in  each  of  the  four  counties  at 
their  county  seats,  to  fit  youth  for  College ;  which  Grammar 
Schools  must  be  free. 

6th.  A  Collegiate  School  towards  which  the  General  Court 
made  an  annual  appropriation  of  X120. 
6 


46 

6th.  Provision  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  Indians. 

In  May,  1717,  the  obligation  resting  upon  towns  in  regard 
to  education  was  extended  to  parishes  undei*  the  same  provis- 
ions, and  we  as  a  parish  took  charge  of  our  schools. 

In  1686  the  Assembly  inade  a  grant  to  the  plantations  of 
Hartford  and  Windsor,  of  the  north-west  portion  of  tlie  State 
comprising  the  present  towns  of  Norwalk,  Goshen,  Canaan, 
Cornwall,  Kent,  Salisbury,  Sharon,  Torrington,  Barkhamsted, 
Colebrook,  Harwinton,  Hartland,  Winchester  and  New  Hart- 
ford, to  preserve  them  from  the  grasp  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros, 
who  acting  for  James  the  first,  claimed  all  the  unappropriated 
lands  of  the  State  as  belonging  to  the  King. 

But  though  the  Charter  Oak  which  preserved  our  Colonial 
Charter  lives  only  in  history,  yet  the  Charter  which  it  held, 
remains,  and,  encased  in  the  wood  which  protected  it,  hangs 
gracefully,  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  State  in  Hart- 
ford. So  also  did  Sir  Edmund  fail  to  get  possession  of  the 
unappropriated  lands  of  the  Colony.  After  the  danger  from 
Andros  was  passed,  the  Governor  claimed  the  lands  as  fully  as 
though  no  grant  had  been  made.  Hartford  and  Windsor 
however,  on  the  strength  of  the  grant  by  the  Assembly,  and 
the  settlements  commenced  under  it,  determined  to  resist  the 
claim  and  oppose  the  legislature.     Great  disturbances  ensued. 

Finally,  however,  in  1726,  forty  years  after  the  grant,  the 
dispute  was  settled,  and  the  legislature  resolved  that  tlie  lands 
in  controversy  should  be  divided  between  the  Colony  and  the 
claiming  towns  of  Hartford  and  Windsor. 

The  Colony  was  to  have  the  western  townships,  viz.,  Nor- 
folk, Goshen,  Canaan,  Cornwall,  Kent,  Salisbury  and  Sharon  ; 
and  Hartford  and  Windsor,  the  eastern,  viz.,  Torrington, 
Barkhamsted,  Colebrook,  Harwinton,  Hartland,  Winchester 
and  New  Hartford. 

The  legislature  appointed  a  committee  to  view  the  town- 
ships belonging  to  the  Colony,  who  reported  in  May,  1733,  as 
their  opinion  that  the  legislature  should  grant  all  the  moneys 
which  shall  arise  from  the  sale  of  the  seven  townships,  to  the 
towns  of  this  Colony  which  are  now  settled,  to  be  divided  to 
them  in  proportion  to  the  grand  lists  of  said  towns,  and  to  ho 
secured  and  improved  forever,  to  the  use  of  the  schools  kept 


47 

in  the  several  towns,  according  to  law  ;  which  report  was 
accepted,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  make  sale  of  the 
lands. 

From  this  sale  came  the  local  fund  of  about  300  dollars 
now  held  by  this  town,  the  interest  of  which  has  annually 
been  applied  in  accordance  with  the  law.  In  the  Revised 
Statutes  published  in  1750,  it  was  enacted  that  the  money 
distributed  to  towns  and  societies,  and  called  "  Local  School 
funds,"  remain  a  perpetual  fund  for  the  support  of  schools, 
and  for  any  application  of  the  interest  to  other  pxirposes,  the 
principal  was  to  be  paid  back  into  the  treasury  of  the  Colony, 
and  the  town  or  society  was  to  lose  the  benefit  thereof  after- 
wards, and  such  is  the  law  to-day  in  regard  to  said  fund. 

While  on  the  subject  of  the  law,  I  may  as  well  say  that 
Societies  or  Parishes  for  religious  purposes  were  first  estab- 
lished in  1700  ;  authorized  to  choose  a  clerk  in  1716  ;  a  com- 
mittee in  1717  ;  a  collector  in  1721 ;  a  moderator  in  172G, 
and  a  treasurer  ui  1764,  and  in  1717,  the  right  to  tax  for 
school  purposes  as  well  as  for  the  support  of  the  ministry. 
Under  this  provision  this  Society  had  charge  of  the  schools  in 
the  Parish  till  1795,  when  the  moneys  arising  from  the  sale  of 
the  western  lands  belonging  to  this  State,  were  ordered  to  be 
invested  and  called  the  "  School  Fund,"  and  remain  a  perpet- 
ual fund,  "  the  interest  of  which  shall  be  inviolably  appropri- 
ated to  the  support  and  encouragement  of  the  public  or  'com- 
mon schools  throughout  the  State,  for  the  equal  benefit  of  all 
the  people  thereof." 

In  1798,  the  management  of  schools  passed  from  towns  and 
ecclesiastical  societies  as  such  to  school  societies  especially 
constituted  for  tliis  purpose. 

The  Parish,  from  its  organization,  had  taxed  themselves 
every  year  for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  for  schools  and 
other  purposes,  until  1818,  when  the  adoption  of  tlie  present 
State  Constitution  gave  religious  liberty  and  equality  of  civil 
rights  to  all  religious  sects ;  since  which  time  the  means  for 
the  support  of  the  gospel  have  been  raised,  sometimes  by  tax, 
sometimes  by  sale  of  slips  and  voluntary  contribution. 

In  1789,  the  Parish  "  voted  to  raise  hy  tax,  .£50  (167  dol- 
lars) to  be  added  to  the  "  country  money,"  to  keep  a  school 


48 

of  two  school  masters  for  the  three  winter  months,  for  writing 
and  reading,  and  to  be  removed  from  place  to  place  for  the 
best  advantage  of  the  parish  in  general.  And  the  rest  of  the 
money  to  be  improved  in  hiring  scliool  dames,  to  teach  chil- 
dren to  read  the  rest  of  the  year,  as  shall  best  suit  the  parish 
in  general,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  see  that  schools  be 
kept  as  above  expressed." 

I  infer  from  these  votes  that  there  were  no  school  houses  in 
the  parish  at  this  date,  but  the  schools  were  kept  in  private 
houses. 

In  1744,  the  Parish,  after  voting  to  keep  a  school  according 
to  law,  and  appointing  Rev.  Mr.  Wheelock,  Deacon  John 
Newcomb,  and  Mr.  Josiah  Finney,  to  see  that  it  be  done,  also 
"voted  that  the  neighborhood  adjacent  to  the  meeting  house 
have  liberty  to  build  a  school  house  on  the  commons  near  the 
meeting  house  ;  also  that  the  neighborhood  adjacent  to  Thomas 
Porter  have  liberty  to  build  a  school  house  near  said  Thomas 
Porter's  house. 

Also  voted  that  the  school  house  which  Mr.  Josiah  Finney 
has  set  on  the  highway  should  stand  in  that  place."  The 
school  house  in  the  center  district  was  probably  not  built  by 
the  district  at  that  time,  but  in  stead  was  erected  the  house 
for  the  "  Indian  Charity  School,"  which  is  the  present  house 
of  the  center  district,  remodeled,  and  which  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  district,  I  can  not  find  when,  or  how,  by  any 
record  extant. 

In  1768,  a  committee  of  three  persons  out  of  the  parish, 
were  chosen  to  determine,  divide  and  set  off  the  school  dis- 
tricts in  the  parish. 

In  their  report  they  say :  "  Whereas,  there  hath  been  three 
districts,  Middle,  North  and  South,  we  are  of  opinion  that  they 
remain  the  same,  although  at  present  the  middle  district, 
being  fewer  in  number,  and  less  able  to  maintain  a  school, 
recommend  that  the  north  part  be  reckoned  with  the  north 
district,  and  the  south  part  with  the  south  district,  they  having 
right  at  any  time  when  they  shall  be  able  and  inclined,  to 
build  a  school  house,  and  set  up  a  school  within  their  limits." 
Until  1773,  but  three  persons  had  been  appointed  school  com- 
mittee, probably  one  in  each  district.     In  that  year  five  were 


49 

appointed,  one  in  each  district  that  then  existed,  probably ;  to 
wit,  "  Henchman  Bennet,  Rufus  CoUins,  Jabez  Wright,  Na- 
thaniel White,  and  Lieut.  James  Pineo." 

The  nest  year  six  persons  were  appointed,  the  center  dis- 
trict probably  having  resumed  their  place  as  a  district. 

The  six  districts  remained  as  they  were  then  till  the  forma- 
tion of  school  societies  in  1788,  and  remain  still  the  same, 
with  the  addition  of  the  south-west,  the  territory  of  which  till 
1816  was  an  unbroken  forest,  known  as  "  Wells'  Woods." 

MUSIC. 

At  a  Parish  meeting  February  21st,  1737,  "  voted  to  sing 
in  the  public  worship  according  to  the  rule  by  which  they 
sing  in  the  old  Society  in  Lebanon."  "Also  made  choice  of 
Eleazer  Hutchinson  to  set  the  psalm  in  the  congregation." 

"  Also  made  choice  of  Joseph  Clark  to  set  the  psalm  when 
Mr.  Hutchinson  is  absent  or  can  not." 

With  this  arrangement  they  rested  satisfied,  so  far  as  the 
records  show,  till  1774,  when  on  the  28th  of  June,  a  meeting 
of  the  Parish  was  held  and  it  was  put  to  vote,  "  whether  they 
would  sing  by  rule  in  the  assembly  ;  voted  m  the  affirmative." 

Also  "  voted  that  the  choristers  should  set  such  tunes  as 
they  think  proper." 

This  was  doubtless  a  special  meeting  on  the  subject,  as  no 
other  business  was  transacted  or  votes  passed. 

In  1791,  at  their  annual  meeting,  voted  "  a  tax  of  one-half 
penny  on  the  pound  to  encourage  singing,  and  to  be  applied 
for  that  purpose  only  ;  and  chose  Enos  Gary  and  Asahel  Allen 
collectors  of  the  singing  tax." 

In  1794,  voted  "  that  they  desire  Messrs.  Samuel  Bliss,  Seth 
Collins,  Ambrose  Collins  and  Samuel  West  Jr.,  to  take  turns 
in  leading  the  singing  on  Sundays." 

In  1798,  "  James  Pineo,  Esq.,  John  Newcomb,  Seth  Collins, 
Samuel  Bliss  and  Consider  Little,  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  promote  singing." 

In  1806,  voted  "  to  request  Samuel  West,  Jr.,  Benjamin 
Lyman,  Dan  Porter,  and  William  Hunt  to  lead  in  singing  for 
the  year  ensuing." 


50 

In  1813,  "  Messrs.  S.  Barstow,  S.  Manley,  G.  Lincoln,  J. 
Richardson,  E.  Woodworth  and  N.  Tanner,  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  get  subscriptions  to  revive  the  singing,  and  to 
hire  a  teacher  if  they  get  enough  subscribed." 

In  1819, "  voted  that  Deacon  Benjamin  Lyman  be  requested 
to  revive  the  singing  in  this  Society." 

This  is  the  last  date,  I  believe,  in  which  the  Society,  as 
such,  have  acted  in  regard  to  singing. 

The  choir  have  usually  circulated  their  own  subscriptions, 
hired  their  own  teachers,  and  chosen  their  own  choristers. 

And  although  a  body  of  persons  whose  sole  object  and  aim 
should  be  to  make  harmony  in  singing  the  songs  of  Zion  in 
the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord,  it  can  not  be  denied,  but  that 
sometimes  elements  of  discord  have  found  their  way  into  the 
choir,  musically  speaking,  as  well  as  otherwise. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

A  reference  to  a  few  miscellaneous  transactions  of  the 
Society,  and  I  will  tire  your  patience  no  farther  with  the 
prosy  recital  of  Parish  votes. 

In  1750,  the  Parish  voted  "  to  allow  Samuel  Woodward 
and  his  brethren  liberty  to  build  them  a  Sabbath  day  house, 
some  where  near  the  old  Meeting  House,  where  the  parish 
committee  think  proper." 

In  1751,  voted  ''to  empower  the  parish  committee  to  erect 
a  sign  post,  at  some  convenient  place  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Meeting  House,  and  that  proper  notifications  set  on  said  post 
for  parish  meetings  shall  be  accounted  legal."  When  the 
Society  became  a  town  they,  (the  town,)  by  agreement  with  the 
Society,  made  it  their  sign  post,  and  when  the  present  liouse 
was  erected,  the  town  concurred  in  removing  the  sign  post  to 
the  place  where  it  now  stands. 

In  1755,  the  following  preamble  and  votes  were  passed  : 

"  Whereas,  Mr.  Joshua  More,  of  Mansfield,  has  given  a  lot 
of  land  in  the  2nd  Society  in  Lebanon,  for  the  foundation, 
use  and  suppoi't  of  a  Charity  School,  forever  to  be  known  and 
called  by  the  name  of  the  Charity  School  in  Lebanon,  found- 
ed by  Joshua  More  for  the  education  of  Indians,  &c."  At  a 
legal  meeting  of  said  Society,  Nov.  18, 1765,  it  was  voted 


51 

"  that  if  said  school  shall  be  set  up,  that  in  order  to  their  reg- 
ular, comfortable  and  orderly  attendance  upon  the  public 
worship  of  God,  the  boys  in  said  school  shall  have  for  their 
use,  the  pew  in  the  gallery,  over  the  west  stairs  in  the  Meet- 
ing House  ;  and  further  provision  suitable  for  them  in  said 
Meeting  House  shall  be  made  if  there  shall  be  occasion." 

In  1761,  "voted  to  allow  Mr.  Wheelock's  Indian  girls  liber- 
ty to  sit  in  the  hind  seat  on  the  women's  side  below." 

The  first  half  century  of  our  Parish  life  closed  in  the  year 
1766.  This  had  been  a  very  prosperous  period  with  both  the 
Church  and  the  Society.  The  Society  had  built  their  large 
and  commodious  house  of  worship,  which,  as  tradition  tells 
us,  was  filled  to  overflowing  ;  the  whole  mass  of  the  popula- 
tion, at  that  period,  being  in  the  habit  of  attending  church 
regularly  and  constantly  on  the  Sabbatli.  They  had  emerged 
from  that  trial  state  which  is  incidental  to  the  settlement  of  a 
new  country  ;  they  had  been  prospered  in  temporal  things, 
and  had  built  for  themselves  those  stately  dwelling  houses, 
of  which  some  of  us,  who  are  half  century  men,  have  a  vivid 
recollection,  but  of  whicli  very  few  now  remain. 

An  event  transpired  at  this  time  which  though  not  a  part 
of  our  Society  history,  proper,  yet  so  connected  with  it,  tliat 
a  committee  was  appointed  the  next  year  which  reported  a 
manifesto  which  occupies  four  pages  of  our  Society  records, 
being  adopted  and  placed  there  by  vote  of  the  Society.* 

It  was  the  sending  to  England,  by  Mr.  Wheelock,  of  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Win  taker,  then  pastor  of  the  church  in  Chelsea, 
(now  Norwich  Landing,)  and  Samson  Occum,  an  Indian 
preacher,  both  of  whom  had  been  educated  in  this  place  by 
Dr.  Wheelock.f 

The  next  half  century,  closing  with  the  year  1816,  was 
generally  a  period  of  trial  with  the  Society,  not  on  account  of 
divisions  among  themselves,  but  on  account  of  the  troubles 
growing  out  of  the  conflict  witli  tlie  "Mother  Country," 
whicli  finally  culminated  in  tlie  Seven  years  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, which  gave  us  Independence  and  National  life,  but 
which  destroyed  for  a  time  our  commerce,  which  before  had 
been  so  profitable,  sweeping  away  many  an  estate  which  was 

*Sec  Note  A,  Appendix.  tSee  Note  B,  Appendix. 


5^ 

supposed  to  be  ample,  and  leaving  heavy  debts  upon  individ- 
uals, as  well  as  the  nation,  from  which  during  this  half  cen- 
tury they  were  hardly  able  to  recover.  They  managed,  how- 
ever, to  keep  their  light  burning  on  this  altar  ;  yet  many  were 
burdened  with  pecuniary  embarrassments,  and  heavy  liens 
upon  the  lands  they  cultivated,  and  to  add  still  to  this,  just 
at  the  close  of  this  period,  came  a  second  war  with  England 
to  add  its  weight  of  trouble  to  their  burdens.  The  culmina- 
tion seemed  to  be  in  our  century  year  1816,  which  is  the 
memorable  year  of  the  present  century,  as  the  cold  season. 
It  was  chronicled  at  the  close  of  the  year  that  in  New  Eng- 
land there  were  frosts  during  every  month  in  the  year.  On 
the  16th  day  of  June,  a  heavy  frost  killed  all  the  corn,  so 
that  hardly  a  farmer  in  town  raised  a  bushel  of  sound  corn. 

With  the  year  1817,  commenced  the  last  half  century  of 
our  Parish  life,  and  with  it  came  a  year  of  fulness  to  the  gar- 
ners of  the  husbandmen,  giving  to  them  courage  and  hope, 
and  a  happy  presage  of  the  prosperity  and  thrift  which  ha.s 
rested  upon  us  as  a  people  for  the  last  fifty  years. 

It  has  been  emphatically  a  period  of  prosperity  to  this 
community,  and  to  the  whole  country.  The  improvements 
in  science,  litierature,  and  arts,  are  unparalleled  in  any  former 
time.  New  motive  powers  have  been  discovered,  by  which 
transporting  vehicles  of  giant  dimensions,  and  fitted  up  with 
all  the  luxury  of  palatial  dwellings,  are  rushed  over  land  and 
sea  with  a  velocity  that  outstrips  the  wind,  so  that  the  dis- 
tance between  places  at  one  extreme  and  the  other  of  our 
great  country,  is  almost  annihilated. 

And  yet  again,  we  have  set  up  poles  and  hung  upon  them 
iron  wires,  tying  together  all  the  principal  towns  and  villages, 
all  over  our  extended  country  ;  and  over  these,  through  the 
agency  of  a  subtle  element  called  electricity,  we  send  messa- 
ges all  over  the  land,  as  quick  as  the  "lightning  that  lighten- 
eth  out  of  one  part  under  heaven  shineth  unto  the  other  part 
under  heaven,"  so  tliat  New  Orleans,  with  which  it  took 
months  to  communicate  at  the  commencement  of  our  last 
half  century  of  Society  life,  now  has  its  important  news  and 
price-current  published  in  the  daily  papers  of  all  our  New 
England  cities,  on  the  day  the  event  transpires. 


53 

And  within  the  past  year  we  have  had  laid  down  amid  the 
coral  and  dark  depths  of  ocean  one  of  these  wires,  and  are 
now  holding  communication  with  the  "  mother  country,"  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  But  I  must  suppress  these 
thoughts,  which  seem  to  come  over  me  unbidden,  while  I 
speak  of  our  prosperity  as  a  Society  for  the  last  half  century 
and  then  dose. 

In  1816,  the  dwelling  houses  were  mostly  in  a  dilapidated 
condition,  weather-worn  and  mostly  unpainted ;  such  as  were 
painted  were  a  dingy  red.  I  can  recall  to  mind  but  two  in 
the  town  at  that  time  that  were  painted  white.  All  were 
warmed  by  fires  in  the  large  old  fashioned  fire  places  of  the 
olden  time.  There  were  no  stoves  in  towp  ;  no  warming  of 
the  meeting  house  whatever  ;  not  more  than  two  or  three 
houses  with  a  carpet  upon  any  of  its  floors ;  no  one  horse 
wagons,  the  people  riding  to  church  on  horseback,  very  often 
the  man  with  his  wife  or  daughter  on  a  pillion  behind  him. 

In  two  or  three  instances  families  living  remote  came  in 
heavy  lumbering  hacks,  as  they  were  then  called,  and  which 
was  considered  as  rather  an  aristocratic  way  of  going  to 
church. 

I  think  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  the  great  mass  of  the  people 
in  town  at  that  time  were  more  or  less  in  debt.  Money  did 
not  circulate  freely,  and  the  business  transactions  were  mostly 
on  credit ;  the  farmers  getting  their  groceries  of  the  merchant, 
and  in  the  fall  paying  the  account  in  beef,  pork,  and  tlie  sur- 
plus produce  of  their  farms,  feeling  satisfied  if  they  got  money 
enough  to  pay  taxes. 

To-day,  as  compared  with  fifty  years  ago,  we  are  abundantly 
blessed.  The  most  of  our  dwellings  have  put  off  their  brown, 
and  are  painted  white ;  are  comfortably  furnished,  warmed, 
and  carpeted. 

The  majority  have  probably  been  built  new  or  essentially 
remodeled.  The  lands  are  miich  better  cultivated,  and  the 
products  of  our  crops  per  acre  are  much  greater  than  formerly. 
Our  farmers  have,  in  the  main,  paid  off  their  debts,  and  many 
of  them  have  a  small  surplus  invested  in  stocks,  or  at  interest. 
And  though  we  have  no  rich  man  in  town,  in  the  common 
7 


54 

acceptation  of  the  term,  yet  the  great  mass  of  our  people  have 
at  their  hands  enough  to  satisfy  all  reasonable  wants.  The 
evidence  of  rural  improvement  and  taste  is  seen  about  most 
of  our  dwellings,  and  I  believe  a  good  degree  of  comfort  and 
hospitality  reigns  within.  The  church  in  which  we  are  now 
convened,  in  its  plain  simplicity,  and  devoid  as  it  is  of  archi- 
tectural beauty,  as  compared  with  the  old  one  in  which  in  my 
boyhood  on  many  a  winter's  Sabbath  day  I  have  sat  listening 
to  the  creaking  of  its  timbers,  the  rattling  of  window  panes, 
and  the  howling  of  winter  witids,  and  waiting,  not  so  much 
"  upon  the  Lord  in  his  sanctuary,"  as  for  the  lastly  of  the 
minister's  sermon,  which  foreshadowed  a  speedy  deliverance 
from  the  biting  cold  within  its  walls.  I  say  as  compared  with 
that,  the  present  liouse  seems  to  me  to  be  about  all  we  can 
reasonably  desire.  But  of  the  thousand  thoughts  which  come 
up  in  this  connection  I  can  not  now  speak. 

Now  in  conclusion,  let  me  say  to  the  youth  and  children 
present,  a  few,  and  but  a  few  of  whom  will  be  present  when 
fifty  years  hence,  the  people  of  this  Parish  shall  meet  to  cele- 
brate the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  this  Church  and 
Society,  as  I  trust  they  will,  may  you  so  live  that  you  may  not 
only  give  to  the  Lord  a  good  account  of  your  stewardship,  but 
pass  over  to  your  children  the  trusts  which  we  commit  to  you. 

And  now  I  charge  you  that  you  guard  well  the  interests  of 
this  Church  and  Society.  See  to  it  that  you  keep  the  fire 
burning  brightly  on  this  altar ;  that  these  seats  with  each 
returning  Sabbath  are  filled  with  devout  worshipers ;  that 
this  desk  is  filled  by  a  devout  and  faithful  Pastor.  Be  kind 
to  the  aged  and  bear  with  their  infirmities  as  they  totter  down 
the  declivity  of  life,  and  when  you  shall  grow  old  may  you  be 
able  to  commit  all  these  sacred  trusts  reposed  in  you  to  your 
children,  untarnished,  unimpaired. 

And  finally,  may  we  all  so  live  as  to  be  accounted  faithful 
stewards,  and  on  "the  other  side  Jordan"  be  permitted  to 
meet  in  reunion  in  that  "  city  that  hath  no  need  of  the  sun, 
neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it,  for  the  glory  of  God  doth 
lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof." 


65 


ADDRESS, 

By  Rev.  Charles  Little,  of  Woodbuey. 


Mr.  President  and  Friends  : 

It  is  with  peculiar  satisfaction  that  I  avail  myself  of  this 
privilege  of  addressing  you.  Returning  to  this  home  of  my 
childhood,  for  many  years  a  wanderer,  though  not  a  fugitive, 
over  the  face  of  the  earth,  to  share  in  the  festivities  and 
solemnities  of  this  occasion,  I  have  been  in  common  with  you 
all,  most  deeply  interested. 

Permit  me,  sir,  to  congratulate  yourself  and  the  committee 
of  arrangements,  on  the  success  of  this  anniversary.  I  desire 
to  express  my  personal  obligations  to  your  pastor  and  others 
who  have  labored  so  successfully  to  interest  and  instruct  us. 

This  old  town  of  Columbia,  small  as  it  is,  and  apart  from 
the  whirl  of  business,  has  an  honorable  history.  Her  sons  and 
daughters  need  not  be  ashamed  of  their  birth-place.  Some 
may  tell  us  that  "  it  is  a  good  place  from  which  to  emigrate," 
but  I  have  felt  to-day  that  it  is  a  good  place  in  which  to  live 
and  to  die ;  that  here  one  may  jfill  up  a  useful  life  and  exert 
influences  which  shall  magnify  his  own  and  others'  happiness 
throughout  eternity. 

Thronging  memories  come  up  to  me  of  scenes  in  my  child- 
hood and  early  youth,  upon  which  I  love  to  dwell. 

I  remember  those  gorgeous  sunsets  witnessed  from  my 
father's  house,  and  those  severe  thunder  storms  which  stirred 
my  youthful  blood.  It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  never  beheld 
any  since  quite  so  grand  and  delightful. 

I  recall  with  pleasure  those  various  schools  which  I  attended, 
common  and  select.  Sabbath  and  singing.  In  respect  to  phys- 
ical and  temporal  blessings  I  have  never  enjoyed  myself  so 
well  as  then.  Those  were  happy  days.  But  my  companions 
in  those  scenes — where  are  they  ?  Some  of  them  are  here, 
strong  in  manhood's  prime,  but  the  larger  part  are  absent ; 
many  scattered  over  the  land  ;  many  in  their  graves.  Look- 
ing over  this  congregation  I  recognize  a  few  of  them,  and 


66 

others  wlio  were  then  in  active  hfe,  now  bent  and  white  by 
reason  of  age,  but  the  majority  here  are  strangers. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  !  What  mighty  changes 
have  occurred  during  this  brief  period  !  Then  the  population 
of  this  State  was  probably  less  than  fifty  thousand,  only  a  few 
hundreds  more  than  are  now  living  in  the  city  of  New  Haven. 
The  settlements  were  confined  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Sound 
and  rivers,  leaving  the  large  part  of  the  State  an  unbroken 
forest.  The  far  West  was  then  this  side  the  present  city  of 
Utica. 

Contrast  the  changes  in  the  manner  of  living  and  in  the 
modes  of  conveyance  ;  mark  the  progress  made  in  the  subju- 
gation of  the  wilderness,  in  the  growth  of  cities  and  villages, 
in  new  machinery  and  manufactures,  in  increased  facilities 
for  business. 

Within  this  time  how  has  the  world  itself  been  enlarged  and 
at  the  same  time  compressed  together !  Its  vast  territories, 
then  unknown,  have  been  opened  up  to  our  knowledge ;  its 
population  has  increased  from  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  to  twelve  hundred  millions.  Yet  the  ends  of  the 
earth  were  never  so  near  to  each  other  as  now.  We  can 
travel  round  the  globe  in  a  few  weeks, — we  can  exchange 
morning  and  evening  salutations  with  our  brothers  across  the 
ocean. 

This  occasion  inspires  within  us  thoughts  and  feelings  too 
precious  to  be  forgotten.  We  feel  our  obligation  to  our  fore- 
fathers and  foremothers.  To  them  under  God  we  owe  this 
rich  inheritance.  Their  wisdom,  toils  and  prayers  obtained 
for  us  this  history,  so  honorable^and  hallowed.  How  shall 
we  repay  them  ?  We  may  do  it  by  honoring  their  memories, 
not  only  to-day  but  continually.  We  may  do  it  by  training 
our  children  to  excel  ourselves  in  all  that  makes  the  useful 
citizen,  the  efficient  Christian. 

We  owe  a  large  debt  of  gratitude  to  God  for  what  he  has 
wrought  in  our  town.  For  this  church,  for  the  institutions  of 
the  gospel  planted  and  preserved  here,  for  revivals  in  years 
long  past,  for  refreshings  in  recent  times,  for  the  present 
powerful  work  of  grace,  we  are  unspeakably  indebted  to  Him. 


67 

Oh  what  fervency  of  grateful  love,  what  activity  of  sanctified 
powers  should  be  preseiited  to  Him  who  has  thus  wonderfully 
proved  His  willingness  to  bless.  From  henceforth  let  us  have 
a  stronger  confidence  in  God  that  He  will  fulfill  His  promises, 
that  He  will  work  out  the  redemption  of  the  world. 

We  are  here  taught  our  duty  to  work  for  God.  Had  not 
the  generations  whose  deeds  have  been  rehearsed  in  our  hear- 
ing,' labored  for"  God,  these  blessings  would  not  have  been 
ours.  Let  us  emulate  their  example ;  let  our  consecration  as 
much  exceed  theirs  as  our  privileges  are  greater  than  theirs. 

Be  encouraged,  ye  who  have  been  long  enrolled  in  Christ's 
army.  Fear  not,  faint  not.  Fight  on,  fight  manfully.  Vic- 
tory, honor,  trophies  many,  and  crowns  eternal  shall  be  yours. 

Ye  who  have  recently  entered  the  service  of  Christ,  whether 
days  many  or  few  remain,  be  faithful.  Important  is  the  work 
before  you.  Be  faithful  and  your  Master  shall  reward  you 
with  the  plaudit—"  Well  done." 

To  the  youth  and  children  present,  one  word.  We  wish 
you,  we  expect  you  to  become  better  men,  better  women, 
more  useful  citizens,  more  efficient  Christians  than  your 
fathers  and  mothers  have  been.  Your  privileges  are  great, 
your  opportunities  are  vast,  your  obligations  are  infinite.  I 
charge  you,  be  true  to  yourselves,  be  true  to  your  God. 

This  is  indeed  a  joyous  occasion.  It  is  delightful,  this 
review  of  the  past ;  this  revival  of  former  friendsliips ;  this 
social  intercourse  ;  this  interchange  of  feeling ;  this  hallowed 
communion  with  each  other,  and  perchance  with  the  spirits 
of  many  whose  bodies  rest  in  these  cemeteries ;  but  I  must 
not  dwell. 

I  look  forward  with  confident  hope  to  another  re  union  more 
blessed  than  this.  There  will  be  families  in  unbroken  suc- 
cession. There,  from  many  parts  of  tliis  land,  from  the  red 
men  of  the  forest,  from  the  idolaters  of  India,  will  be  gathered 
many  witnesses  to  the  fidelity  and  power  of  this  church. 

Plere  we  meet  for  a  few  hours  and  part  to  sec  eacli  other 
no  more  in  the  flesh,  but  there  our  re-union  will  continue  for- 
ever. There  through  cycles  endless,  we  shall  progress  in  the 
service,  the  love,  the  joy  of  God  our  Father,  and  of  His  Son 
our  Saviour.     May  we  all  be  there. 


58 


MOOR'S  II^DIAj^  charity  SCHOOL, 
ITS  SCHOOLMASTERS  AXD  MISSIONARIES. 

By  the  Pastor. 


Among  the  earliest  missionary  efforts  in  the  conntry,  long 
before  the  organization  of  the  "  American  Board,"  must  be 
noted  the  Indian  Missionary  School  of  Rev.  Eleazar  Wheel- 
ock,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Lebanon  Crank,  now  Columbia. 
This  enterprise  deserves  notice,  particularly  because  of  its 
early  date  and  worthy  intention.  It,  however,  was  not  with- 
out some  good  fruit  in  its  work  among  the  Indian  tribes,  and 
is  to  be  regarded  as  of  peculiar  interest  and  importance,  as 
leading  to  the  establishment  of  Dartmouth  College. 

In  December,  1743,  Mr.  Wheelock  received  into  his  family 
school,  Samson  Occom,  a  Mchegan  Indian,  whose  successful 
course  of  education  led  to  the  project  of  training  Indian  youth 
to  become  missionaries  to  the  various  accessible  tribes.  For 
the  encouragement  of  this  enterprise  Mr.  Joshua  Moor,  of 
Mansfield,  gave  a  lot  of  land  near  the  center  of  the  parish.  A 
school  house  was  soon  built,  situated  on  the  corner  east  of 
the  Hartford,  and  south  of  the  Willimantic  road,  opposite 
wliich,  at  the  north,  was  Dr.  Wheelock's  house.  The  school 
was  sustained,  and  the  missionaries  sent  out  from  it  were 
supported  by  appropriations  from  the  legislatures  of  Connec- 
ticut and  Massachusetts,  by  funds  received  from  England  to 
the  amount  of  seven  thousand  pounds  sterling,  of  which  the 
King  gave  two  hundred  pounds,  by  funds  of  the  Scotch  Society  . 
for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge,  and  by  other  church 
and  individual  contributions.* 

This  project  assumed  such  importance  at  the  time  that  it 
received  the  hearty  commendation  of  the  following  neighbor- 
ing ministers,  in  a  paper  drawn  up  and  signed  by  them,  under* 
date  of"  Chelsea  in  Norwich,  July  10,  1762  :" 

*  See  Note  B,  Appendix. 


59 

Ebenezer  Rosseter,  pastor  of  the  first  church  in  Stonington. 

Joseph  Fish,  "  second   "  " 

Nathaniel  Whitaker,    " 

Benjamin  Pomeroy,      " 

Elijah  Lathrop,  " 

Nathaniel  Eells,  " 

Mather  Byles,  " 

Jonathan  Barber,  " 

Matthew  Graves,  missionary  at  New  London. 

Peter  Powers,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Newent. 

Daniel  Kirkland,  formerly  pastor  at  Newent. 


a 

Chelsea. 

first 

a 

Hebron. 

a 

Gilead. 

a 

a 

Stonington. 

first 

a 

New  London. 

u 

Groton. 

Asher  Rosseter, 

(( 

first  church 

Preston. 

Jabez  Wright, 

ti 

fourth 

(( 

Norwich. 

David  Jewott, 

a 

second 

a 

New  London. 

Benjamin  Throop, 

a 

a 

a 

Norwich. 

Samuel  Mosely, 

u 

a 

a 

Windham. 

Stephen  White, 

a 

a 

a 

u 

Richard  Salter, 

a 

a 

a 

Mansfield. 

Timothy  Allen, 

a 

u 

Ash  ford. 

Ephraim  Little, 

a 

first 

a 

Colchester. 

Hobart  Estabrook, 

i(. 

a 

u 

East  Haddam 

Joseph  Fowler, 

a 

u 

u 

a 

Benjamin  Boardman, 

u 

fourth 

(; 

Middletown. 

John  Norton, 

u 

sixth 

u 

u 

Benjamin  Dunning, 

a 

a 

a 

Marlborough 

Besides  this  we  have  another  paper  of  commendation,  dated 
New  Jersey,  September  5,  1765,  which,  among  many  other 
words,  bears  this  testimony: 

"  We  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed  do  certify  that 
we  have  had  frequent  opportunities  of  being  well-informed  of 
an  Indian  Charity  School  which  was  some  years  ago  instituted 
in  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  and  which,  by  the  continued 
smiles  of  Heaven,  hath  remarkably  succeeded  under  the  care 
of  the  Rev.  and  worthy  Mr.  Eleazar  Wheelock,  <fec . 
Thomas  Gage,  Commander-in-chief  of  His  Majesty's  fbrces  in 

America. 
Francis  Bernard,  Governor  of  Massachusetts. 
Benjamin  Wentworth,  Governor  of  New  Hampshire. 


60 

"William  Franklin,  Governor  of  New  Jersey. 

John  Penn,  Lieutenant  Governor  of  Pennsvlvania. 

Thomas  Fitch,  Governor  of  Connecticut. 

Cadwallader  Golden,  Lieutenant  Governor  of  New  York. 

William  Allen,  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania. 

Frederick  Smith,  Chief  Justice  of  New  Jersey. 

Theodore  Atkinson,  Chief  Justice  Superior  Court  of  New 
Hampshire. 

Mark  H.  Wentworth,  of  His  Majesty's  Council  in  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

Daniel  Warner,  Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

William  Smith,  Justice  of  Superior  Court  in  New  York. 

Peter  Levins,  of  his  Majesty's  Council  in  New  Hampshire. 

Samuel  Woodruff,  of  his  Majesty's  Council  in  New  Jersey. 

Joseph  Shippen,  Secretary  of  Pennsylvania. 

Theodore  Atkinson,  Jr.,  Secretary  of  New  Hampshire. 

W.  P.  Smith,  Mayor  of  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey. 

Andrew  Elliott,  Collector  in  New  York. 

Henry  Sherbourn,  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  New 
Hampshire. 

John  Goff,  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  New  Hampshire. 

William  Smith,  Jr.,  Lawyer  in  New  York. 

John  Morin  Scott,  Lawyer  in  New  York. 

William  Livingston,  Lawyer  in  New  York. 

Henry  Wisner,  of  the  General  Assembly  in  New  York. 

Eleazar  Miller,  of  the  General  Assembly  in  New  York. 

John  Redman,  M.  D.,  in  Philadelphia. 

John  Morgan,  M.  D.,  in  Philadelphia. 

William  Farquhar,  Benjamin  Y.  Prime,  James  Smith,  Physi- 
cians in  New  York. 

Abraham  Gardner,  Col.  in  East  Hampton. 

Samuel  Smith,  Daniel  Roberdeau,  Merchants  in  Philadelphia. 

P.  y.  B.  Livingston,  James  Jauncey,  David  Shaw,  Garr. 
Rapalje,  John  Smith,  John  Provost,  John  Vender  Spiegel, 
William  M'Adams,  Laurence  Read,  Dirk  Brinkerhoff,  Gar- 
rat  Noel,  Merchants  in  New  York. 


61 

Samuel  Sebury,  Thomas  B.  Chandler,  D.  D.,  Jacob  Duche, 
Ministers  and  Missionaries  of  the  Church  of  England,  by- 
order  of  the   Presbytery  of  New  York,  James   Caldwell, 
Clerk. 
John  Ewing,  Charles  Beatty,  Richard   Treat,  John  Strain, 

Ministers  in  Pennsylvania. 
Samuel  Finley,  D.  D.,  President  of  the  College  in  N.  J. 
Lambertus  De  Ronde,  Archibald  Laidlie,  Joan  Ritzema,  John 
Albert  Weygand,  Ministers  of  the  Protestant  Dutch  Church 
in  New  York. 
Thomas  Jackson,  Preacher  of  the  gospel  in  New  York. 
Ebenezer    Prime,   Thomas   Lewis,   Silvanus    White,  James 

Brown,  Samuel  Buel,  Ministers  on  Long  Island. 
Naphtali  Daggett,  S.  T.  P.  in  Yale  College,  Connecticut. 
Jonathan  Parsons,  Minister  in  Newbury,  Massachusetts. 
Samuel  Haven,  Minister  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 
John  Rogers,  Joseph  Treat,  Ministers  in  New  York. 

The  number  of  scholars  ranged  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five, 
about  one  half  Indians,  the  others  being  English  youth  devo- 
ted chiefly  to  the  work  of  missions  among  the  Indians.  The 
principal  tribes  from  which  these  Indian  pupils  came,  and  the 
method  of  conducting  this  enterprise  will  be  fairly  indicated 
by  this  record  of  a  hundred  years  ago : 

"  March  12,  1765,  the  Board  of  Correspondents  met  to  ex- 
amine Mr.  Titus  Smith  and  Mr.  Theophilus  Chamberlain,  of 
their  qualification  for  missionaries,  and  approved  them.  And 
also  examined  and  approved  David  Fowler,  a  Montauk  Indian, 
and  Joseph  Woolley  and  Hezekiah  Calvin,  Delawares,  for 
schoolmasters  among  the  Indians.  They  also  examined  Jacob 
Fowler,  a  Montauk,  Moses,  Johannes,  Abraham  Primus, 
Abraham  Secundus,  and  Peter,  Mohawks,  and  approved  them 
as  well  accomplished  for  schoolmasters,  excepting  their  want 
of  age,  and  therefore  appointed  them  to  serve  in  the  capacity 
of  ushers,  under  the  direction  and  conduct  of  the  mission- 
aries." 

Of  those  who  were  actually  sent  out  as  missionaries  only  a 
brief  mention  can  here  be  made. 

Samson  Occom,  born  in  1723,  was  ordained  by  the  Suffolk 


62 

Presbytery  on  Long  Island,  and  labored  among  tbe  Montauk 
Indians,  the  Oneidas,  and  several  other  tribes,  until  1766, 
when  he  was  sent  to  England,  in  company  with  Rev.  Mr. 
Whitaker,  to  solicit  aid  for  the  school.  Being  the  first  Indian 
preacher  that  had  ever  visited  that  couirtry,  he  quickly  enlisted 
an  interest  in  himself  personally,  and  in  his  mission,  which 
proved  a  very  successful  one.  He  gained  the  reputation,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  of  being  an  able  and  impressive  preacher. 
His  labors  among  the  Indians  were  attended  with  the  blessing 
of  God.  He  preached  a  sermon  on  the  execution  of  an  Indian 
at  New  Haven,  in  1772,  which  was  published.  He  wrote  an 
account  of  the  Montauk  Indians,  which  is  still  in  manuscript. 
He  was  the  author  of  that  familiar  and  stirring  hymn, 
"Awaked  by  Sinai's  awful  sound."  In  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  he  labored  at  various  places -in  the  vicinity 'of  Albany,  and 
a  barn  is  still  pointed  out  in  the  Mohawk  valley  by  those  who 
heard  him  preach  in  it  seventy-five  or  eighty  years  ago.  He 
died  in  New  Stockbridge,  New  York,  July  14,  1792,  in  the 
sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 

It  does  not  appear  that  any  other  Indian  youth  from  Dr. 
Wheelock's  school  became  ordained  missionaries.  Many, 
however,  were  sent  out  as  schoolmasters,  and  schools  which 
promised  well  for  a  time  were  gathered  in  several  of  the  tribes 
of  the  Six  Nations.  Here  is  a  peep  into  one  of  these  schools 
which  we  take  through  the  eyes  of  one  of  the  missionaries : 
"  I  am  every  day  diverted  and  pleased  with  a  view  of  Moses 
and  his  school,  as  I  can  sit  in  my  study  and  see  him  and  all 
his  scholars  at  any  time,  the  school  house  being  nothing  but 
an  open  barrack ;  and  I  am  much  pleased  to  see  eight,  ten  or 
twelve,  and  sometimes  more  scholars  sitting  round  their  bark 
table,  some  reading,  some  writing,  and  others  a  studying,  and 
all  engaged,  to  appearance,  with  as  much  seriousness  and 
attention  as  you  will  see  in  almost  any  worshiping  assembly, 
and  Moses  at  the  head  of  them  with  the  gravity  of  a  divine  of 
fifty  or  threescore." 

And  here  are  a  few  words  from  one  of  these  schoolmasters, 
David  Fowler,  of  the  Montauk  tribe,  writing  to  Dr.  Whcelock 
from  his  station  among  the  Oneidas : 


' 


63 

"  Kanavaroliare  [Canajoharie,]  June  15, 1765. 
Honored  and  Rev.  Sir, 

This  is  the  twelfth  day  since  I  began  to  keep  this  school, 
and  I  have  put  eight  of  my  scholars  into  the  third  page  of  their 
spelling  book ;  some  have  got  almost  down  to  the  bottom  of 
said  page.  I  never  saw  children  exceed  these  in  learning. 
The  number  of  my  scholars  are  twenty-six,  when  they  are  all 
present,  but  it  is  difficult  to  keep  them  together.  They  are 
often  roving  about  from  place  to  place  to  get  something  to 
live  upon.  I  am  also,  teaching  a  singing  school.  They  take 
great  pleasure  in  learning  to  sing.  We  can  already  carry 
three  parts  of  several  tunes.  My  friends  are  always  looking 
for  the  ministers.  There  is  scarce  a  day  passes  over  but 
somebody  will  ask  me, — 'When  will  the  minister  come?'" 

How  many  of  Dr.  Wheelock's  Indian  students  actually  be- 
came schoolmasters  we  can  not  tell,  but  at  one  time  eight  are 
spoken  of  as  thus  engaged,  with  127  children  under  their  care. 
Some  of  these  youth  gave  evidence  of  true  piety.,  and  entered 
upon  this  work  in  the  spirit  of  missionaries.  As  an  illustra- 
tion of  this,  take  these  words  of  Joseph  Wooley,  a  school- 
master among  the  Mohawks :  "  The  language  of  my  heart  is, 
to  contribute  the  little  mite  I  have  to  the  living  God,  and  be 
in  his  service.  My  soul  seems  to  be  more  and  more  upon  the 
perishing  pagans  in  these  woods.  I  long  for  the  conversion 
of  their  souls,  and  that  they  may  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  be  saved.  I  wish  I  was  made  able 
to  teach  and  instruct  them,  and  I  shall  do  whatever  lies  in  my 
power  to  tell  them  of  Christ  as  long  as  I  tarry." 

Among  those  who  sought  instruction  at  this  school  was  the 
celebrated  Mohawk  chief,  Joseph  Brant.  He  was  born  in 
1742,  and,  with  other  Indian  youth,  was  sent  here  by  Sir 
William  Johnson.  Espousing,  as  was  most  natural,  the  cause 
of  the  English  against  the  Revolutionists,  he  became  the  for- 
midable enemy  of  the  American  forces.  Wise  in  council, 
brave  in  action,  and  a  terror  to  his  adversaries,  yet  he  was  not 
without  magnanimity  as  a  warrior.  In  the  work  of  missions 
among  his  people,  he  rendered  very  essential  service,  becom- 
ing an  interpreter  to  the  missionaries,  and  assisting  them  in 


64 

other  ways,  making  his  house  an  asyhim  for  them  in  the  wil- 
derness. About  the  year  1772  he  united  with  the  church  and 
was  very  zealous  in  his  efforts  to  christianize  his  people.  At 
the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle  he  directed  his  atten- 
tion particularly  to  the  social  and  moral  elevation  of  the 
Indians,  in  which  work  he  had  great  obstacles  to  oppose.  He 
endeavored  to  secure  for  them  systematic  religious  instruc- 
tion. He  was  disposed,  at  one  time,  to  acquire  a  knowledge 
of  the  Greek  language,  in  order  to  make  a  more  accurate 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  into  his  native  tongue. 
While  in  England  he  published  the  "  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,"  and  the  gospel  of  Mark,  in  Mohawk  and  English, 
and  he  there  collected  funds  for  the  first  Episcopal  church 
which  was  built  in  Canada  West.  He  died  with  a  triumphant 
Christian  faith,  November  24,  1807,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five. 

Of  the  English  students  in  Dr.  Wheelock's  school,  the  first 
who  went  out  as  a  missionary  to  the  Indians,  was  Rev.  Charles 
Jeffrey  Smith.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  College,  in  1757, 
and  was  ordained  as  a  missionary  in  Lebanon  Crank,  in  1763. 
After  a  short  period  of  service  among  the  Indians,  he  went  to 
Virginia,  to  labor  for  the  instruction  of  the  slaves.  He  was 
subject  to  a  disease  which  caused  violent  pain  in  the  head,  and 
while  on  a  visit  to  Long  Island  he  went  out  with  his  gun  on 
the  morning  of  August  10,  1770,  and  was  soon  found  dead, 
under  circumstances  indicating  that  he  had  shot  himself. 

Samuel  Kirkland,  son  of  Rev.  Daniel  Kirkland,  pastor  of 
the  third  Congregational  Church  in  Norwich,  (now  Lisbon,) 
was  born  at  Norwich,  December  1,  1741.  At  the  age  of 
twenty,  he  entered  this  school ;  was  graduated  at  Princeton 
College,  New  Jersey,  in  1765,  leaving  College  a  few  months 
before  graduation  to  engage  in  his  mission  to  the  Indians ;  a 
work  to  which  he  had  given  himself  from  very  early  life.  In 
company  with  two  Seneca  Indians,  he  set  out,  November  20, 
1764,  on  a  missionary  expedition  to  their  own  tribe,  the  most 
remote  and  the  most  savage  of  the  Six  Nations.  The  snow 
was  four  feet  deep,  and  he  traveled  on  snow-shoes,  with  his 
pack  of  provisions  on  his  back,  more  than  two  hundred  miles 
into  the   wilderness,  without  paths   or  houses  to  lodge  in. 


65 

After  an  absence  of  about  a  year  and  a  half,  a  period  of  great 
hardship  and  peril,  yet  of  some  encouragement  in  his  work, 
he  returned  to  Connecticut,  bringing  a  Seneca  chief  with  him. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  1766,  he  was  ordained  at  Lebanon 
Crank,  and  on  the  same  day  received  a  general  commission  as 
an  Indian  Missionary  from  the  Connecticut  "  Board  of  Cor- 
respondents" of  the  Society  in  Scotland  for  Propagating 
Christian  Knowledge ;  a  board  which  was  constituted  July  4, 
1764,  to  have  the  supervision  of  these  Indian  missions.  In 
ab^ut  six  weeks  he  Avas  again  at  his  mission  work,  taking  up 
his  residence  among  the  Oneidas,  where  he  continued  to  labor, 
with  some  interruptions,  for  more  than  forty  years.  A  Chris- 
tian church  was  soon  organized  iinder  his  ministrations, 
which,  by  occasional  accessions,  showed  a  good  degree  of 
prosperity.  His  labors  were  partially  suspended  during  the 
Kevolutionary  war,  though  he  continued  to  hold  such  an  in- 
fluence as  to  keep  the  Oneidas  and  part  of  the  Mohawks  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  Americans,  while  nearly  all  in  the 
other  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations  took  the  position  of  active 
hostility.  In  1779  he  was  Brigade  Chaplain  with  General 
Sullivan,  having  previously  been  employed  in  procuring  intel- 
ligence of  the  designs  and  movements  of  the  enemy  at  Niagara. 
In  the  spring  of  1784  he  resumed  his  missionary  work  at 
Oneida.  Two  years  afterwards  his  labors  were  attended  with, 
a  considerable  revival  of  religion,  which  seemed  to  have  its 
beginning  in  the  conversion  of  a  strong  minded  Indian  more 
than  seventy  years  old,  who  up  to  that  time  had  been  a  bigoted 
pagan. 

In  1788,  Mr.  Kirkland  and  his  two  eldest  sons  received 
from  the  Indians  and  the  State  of  New  York  conjointly,  a 
grant  of  large  and  valuable  tracts  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of 
Oneida,  on  which  he  built  for  himself  a  log  house.  In  1790, 
while  on  a  mission  to  Congress  in  behalf  of  the  Senecas,  he 
was  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  the  celebrated  chief, 
Cornplanter,  to  the  Christian  faith.  "  In  the  winter  of  1791-2, 
])y  request  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  he  conducted  about  forty 
chiefs  and  warriors,  a  representation  of  five  nations,  to  Phila- 
delphia, to  consult  with  Congress  on  the  best  method  of  intro- 


66 

ducing  the  blessings  of  civilization  among  them,  and  also  with 
a  view  of  preserving  peace  between  the  Indians  and  the  Uni- 
ted States.  This  visit  had  the  desired  effect,  and  not  only 
secured  to  the  United  States  the  friendship  of  the  Six  Nations, 
rendering  them  mediators  between  the  Federal  Government 
and  the  Western  Indians,  but  also  securing  to  the  Sis  Nations 
an  increased  degree  of  favor  from  the  Government  in  the  pro- 
motion of  education  and  civilization  among  them." 

In  1793  Mr,  Kirkland  accomplished  what  had  long  been  a 
favorite  object  with  him,  in  securing  a  charter  for  an  institu- 
tion under  the  name  of  Hamilton  Oneida  Academy,  to  which 
he  made  a  donation  of  several  hundred  acres  of  land.  This 
Academy,  in  1812,  four  years  after  his  death,  was  exalted  to 
the  rank  of  a  College,  in  the  first  class  of  which,  at  gradua- 
tion, with  only  one  associate,  was  the  Rev.  George  A.  Cal- 
houn, D.  D.,  of  North  Coventry.  This  is  now  Hamilton  Col- 
lege, at  Clinton,  New  York. 

Mr.  Kirkland  continued  his  labors  among  the  Indians  as  he 
was  able,  and  died  February  28,  1808,  aged  sixty-six.  His 
son,  John  Thornton  Kirkland,  was  President  of  Harvard 
University  from  1810  to  1828.  He  is  the  only  missionary 
from  Dr.  Wheelock's  school  who  spent  his  whole  life  among 
the  Indians.  Several  others  were  distinctly  set  apart  to  this 
work,  but  during  the  distractions  of  the  war,  and  from  other 
influences,  their  connection  with  the  work  was  of  short  dura- 
tion. 

Among  these  were  Messrs.  Titus  Smith  and  Theophilus 
Chamberlain,  who  were  ordained  as  missionaries  April  24, 
1765,  the  latter  graduating  at  Yale  College  in  the  same  year, 
and  the  former  in  the  year  next  preceding.  They  were  with 
Dr.  Wheelock  several  months,  to  prepare  for  the  mission. 
Mr.  Chamberlain  had  formerly  been  taken  captive  by  the  In- 
dians, and  became  so  much  interested  in  their  welfare  that  he 
spent  all  his  property  and  ran  in  debt  in  order  to  fit  himself 
to  preach  the  gospel  among  them. 

Mr.  Sylvanus  Ripley  was  early  ordained  as  a  missionary  to 
the  Indians.  After  his  labors  were  closed  in  that  capacity, 
he  took  the  charge  of  the  mission  school,  then  connected  with 


67 

Dartmouth  College.  In  1782  he  became  Professor  of  Divinity 
in  the  College,  and  succeeded  Dr.  Wlieelock  in  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  students  and  the  inhabitants  of  the -village  of 
Hanover. 

Levi  Frisbie,  born  in  Branford,  April,  1748,  was  placed 
under  the  care  of  Dr.  Wheelock  in  1767,  with  a  view  to  his 
becoming  a  missionary.  He  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
College  in  1771.  In  the  two  following  years  he  was  engaged 
in  a  mission  to  the  Delaware  Indians.  He  was  ordained  in 
1775,  and  continued  in  his  mission  work  till  broken  off  by  the 
distracted  state  of  the  country.  He  was  settled  over  the  first 
church  in  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  February  7, 1776,  where  he 
remained  thirty  years,  and  died  February  25, 1806,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-eight. 

In  company  with  Mr.  Frisbie,  David  McClure  was  also  en- 
gaged in  the  mission  among  the  Delawares.  He  was  born  at 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  November  18,  1748.  His  youthful 
days  were  spent  chiefly  in  Boston,  in  the  school  of  the  famous 
"Master  Lovell."  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  a  member 
of  Dr.  Wheelock's  school  with  a  view  to  engage  as  a  mission- 
ary among  the  Indians.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  College 
in  1769.  He  was  ordained  May  20,  1772,  and  after  the  ex- 
perience of  a  few  months  in  the  missionary  work  was  com- 
pelled to  desist  because  of  the  war.  After  a  ministry  of  nine 
years  in  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  he  was  installed  pastor 
of  the  church  in  East  Windsor,  (now  South  Windsor,)  June 
11,  1786,  where  he  died  June  25,  1820,  aged  seventy-one, 
having  held  the  pastoral  office  there  thirty-four  years. 

David  Avery,  born  in  Franklin,  April  5, 1746,  was  also,  for 
a  short  time,  engaged  in  this  missionary  work.  He  was  hope- 
fully converted  under  the  preaching  of  Whitfield ;  was  fitted 
for  College  in  Dr.  Wheelock's  school ;  was  graduated  at  Yale 
College  in  1769 ;  and  was  ordained  as  missionary  to  the  Oneida 
Indians  as  colleague  with  Hev.  Mr.  Kirkland.  In  consequence 
of  an  injury  received,  he  was  soon  obliged  to  leave  the  mis- 
sion ;  and  after  preaching  on  Long  Island  a  short  time,  he  was 
settled  over  a  church  in  Gaysboro,  (now  Windsor,)  Vermont, 
March  25, 1773.     The  Sabbath  after  the  news  of  the  battle  of 


68 

Lexington  reached  his  place,  he  preached  his  farewell  sermon, 
telling  the  people  that  God  would  take  care  of  them ;  as  for 
himself  he  was  going  to  join  the  army.  When  the  congrega- 
tion was  dismissed,  he  took  his  stand  upon  the  steps  and  gave 
a  soul-stirring  address  in  behalf  of  his  country,  entreating  his 
people,  "by  every  motive  of  patriotism,  and  as  they  valued 
liberty  and  abhorred  slavery,  not  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  her  cry." 
Twenty  of  his  parishioners  gave  a  quick  response  to  his  ap- 
peal, chose  him  captain,  shouldered  their  muskets  and  started 
on  foot  for  Boston,  and  in  ten  days  from  the  battle  at  Lexing- 
ton they  were  in  their  camp  at  Cambridge.  The  next  day, 
which  was  the  Sabbath,  standing  upon  a  temporary  stage, 
formed  by  turning  up  a  rum  hogshead,  in  the  area  of  Cam- 
bridge College,  he  preached  from  Nehemiah  4 ;  14,  "  And  I 
looked,  and  rose  up,  and  said  unto  the  nobles  and  rulers,  and 
to  the  rest  of  the  people.  Be  not  afraid  of  them ;  remember 
the  Lord  which  is  great  and  terrible,  and  fight  for  your  breth- 
ren, your  sons  and  your  daughters,  your  wives  and  your 
homes."  While  holding  his  position  as  captain,  he  instituted 
daily  religious  services,  going  from  teiit  to  tent  to  read  the 
word  of  God. 

He  was  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill;  saw  the  defeat  of  our 
army  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island ;  was  by  the  side  of  Wash- 
ington in  his  melancholy  retreat  through  the  Jerseys;  was 
present  at  the  taking  of  Burgoyne,  at  the  capture  of  the  Hes- 
sians at  Trenton,  and  in  the  battle  of  Princeton;  was  in  the 
army  during  that  terrible  winter  at  Yalley  Forge;  helped 
build  the  fortifications  at  Ticonderoga ;  was  by  the  side  of 
Washington  when  he  signed  the  death  warrant  of  Andre,  and 
witnessed  the  execution  of  that  ill-fated  British  ofiicer ;  and 
was  very  active  in  the  efforts  which  were  made  to  capture  the 
traitor  Arnold.  Having  served  his  country  as  captain  and 
afterwards  as  chajDlain  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the 
war,  he  preached  successively  at  Bennington,  Vermont,  at 
Wrentham,  Massachusetts,  and  Chaplin,  Connecticut,  and 
died  in  September,  1818,  aged  seventy-two. 

This  missionary  enterprize  among  the  Indians  was  begun 
with  much  promise  ;  was  carried  on  in  the  face  of  increasing 


69 

obstacles,  with  a  true  Christian  and  commendable  zeal,  and  if 
it  did  not  reach  the  full  anticipations,  this  must  be  attributed 
in  part  to  the  on-coming  Revolutionary  struggle,  and  in  part 
to  the  impracticability  of  turning  the  Indian  character  to  very 
extensive  service  in  the  work  of  missions.  How  much  good 
was  actually  accomplished, — how  many  of  those  Indian  sovils 
were  turned  from  paganism  to  the  saving  reception  of  Christ, 
eternity  alone  can  reveal.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  success 
which  attended  these  early  missionary  efforts  among  the  In- 
dians is  very  much  like  the  success  which  has  attended  the 
efforts  of  later  days.  They  are  an  unsettled  roving  people, 
and  if  any  thing  is  to  be  done  for  their  spiritual  welfare,  it 
must  be  done  under  these  unfavorable  circumstances.  And 
no  one  can  say  that  all  that  has  been  done  for  them  is  not  fully 
justified  by  the  actual  spiritual  renovation  which,  in  individ- 
ual instances,  may  have  been  wrought  by  the  Spirit  and  the 
Word. 


70 


TRIBUTE  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  REV.  E.  WHEELOCK,  D.  D., 

FOUNDER  OF  MOOR'S  CHARITY  SCHOOL  AND 

DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE. 

By  Dr.  0.  B.  Lyman. 


The  past  in  scanning,  much  we  often  find, 
To  please  and  interest  the  inquiring  mind: 
Old  things  not  always  are  devoid  of  worth. 
When  found  connected  with  one's  place  of  birth ; 
And  often,  light  upon  the  mind  is  cast. 
As  we  compare  the  Present  with  the  Past. 

We  plant  an  acorn — 'tis  a  little  thing — 
A  little  plant  will  from  that  acom  spring ; 
In  a  few  years  will  rise  above  our  heads 
A  giant  oak,  that  wide  its  branches  spreads, 
Destined  to  stand  perhaps  a  thousand  years, 
'Mid  storm  and  cahn — at  last  it  disappears. 

One  hundred  years  ago,  a  man  of  worth. 

With  a  big  heart — Old  Windham  gave  him  birth — 

Started  in  Lebanon — Columbia  now  the  name — 

A  little  school  the  forest  sons  to  tame: 

Here  the  poor  Indian  sought  for  mental  food, 

Here  Occum  found,  that  God  was  righteous,  good : 

That  pale  men  too,  instruction  here  received, 

Here  sought  the  truth,  here  found,  and  here  believed. 

Here  Occum  was  prepared  to  preach  the  Word, 

And  set  before  his  race  his  dying  Lord : 

Hence  too  he  went  to  visit  England's  shore, 

Preach  to  her  king — sight  never  seen  before. 

From  this,  the  thought  in  Wheelock's  mind  arose. 

To  found  a  College  ere  his  life  should  close, 

Wliere  the  poor  pagan  might  be  led  to  find 

Light,  food  and  drink,  for  his  benighted  mind, 

As  well  as  he  who  wears  a  lighter  skin, 

But  has  a  soul  as  deeply  stained  with  sin. 

Thus  DartmoviKs  seed  was  sown  and  sprouted  here, 

At  least,  in  Wheelock's  mind,  with  fervent  prayer. 


71 

He  now  before  his  people  laid  his  plan, 
Elsewhere,  to  consummate  the  work  began. 
With  deep  regret  they  heard  his  earnest  plea, 
Reluctantly  consent  it  might  so  be.* 
From  the  great  woi'k  he  could  not  well  be  turned, 
His  heart  for  it  with  love  increasing  burned. 
Occum  had  touched  a  chord  in  England's  heart, 
Thrilling  it  with  sympathy  in  every  part. 
Its  warmest  friend  Lord  Dartmouth  soon  became. 
And  hence  the  institution  took  its  name- 
King  George  himself  enchanted  with  the  theme. 
Became  a  donor  to  the  glorious  scheme, 
And  by  his  lords  and  men  of  high  renown, 
The  same  good  feeling  for  the  cause  was  shown : 
Wheelock  was  moved  with  an  increase  of  toil, 
To  transplant  Dartmouth  to  a  northern  soil. 
And  like  Elisha  in  the  wilderness, 
A  school  of  Prophets  found  that  God  would  bless : 
So  hence  to  Hampshire  'neath  her  lofty  pine, 
That  gleam  and  sing  in  light  and  notes  divine, 
Removed  from  hills,  on  an  extensive  plain, 
Where  undisturbed  the  school  might  long  remain, 
There  like  a  Patriarch,  he,  full  of  years, 
Planted  and  watered  Dartmouth  with  his  tears: 
Yes,  lived  to  see  her  rooted  deep  and  strong, 
With  every  prospect  of  her  living  long. 
Like  Solomon's  father,  what  he  had  begun, 
To  finish  up,  he  left  behind,  his  son : 
Like  good  old  Simeon,  serene  and  calm. 
His  infant  school  now  resting  on  his  arm, — 
His  arm  of  faith,  upheld  by  God's  free  grace, 
He  now  could  say,  "let  me  depart  in  peace!" 
His  course  thus  finished,  like  a  star  at  even, 
He  sank  to  rest,  a  brilliant  gem  of  heaven  ! 

Thus,  as  the  oak  that  from  the  acorn  sprung. 

Has  towered  high,  its  branches  wide  outflung, 

So  Dartmouth  stands,  though  small  indeed  at  birth, 

A  school  matured  and  full  of  sterling  worth : 

A  monument  bespeaking  noblest  praise, 

To  Wheelock's  memory,  in  remotest  days. 

*  See  Note  A,  Appendix. 


72 


STATEME]:^rTS  A^D  STATISTICS. 

By  Kev.  William  H.  Mooee. 


The  population  of  your  town  in  1840  was  842 ;  in  1860, 
854, — a  gain  of  twelve. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  your  church  has  so  generally 
been  supplied  with  pastors,  not  having  been  destitute  over 
fifteen  years  in  150. 

Twelve  revivals  are  named  since  1780,  or,  on  an  average, 
one  in  seven  years. 

Sixteen  ministers  have  been  raised  up  from  this  parish, — 
one  in  ten  years,  and  it  has  thus  furnished  about  300  years  of 
ministerial  service  in  Connecticut,  and  about  175  years  out- 
side of  Connecticut,  including  forty-four  years  among  the 
heathen; — making  about  475  years  in  all. 

In  January  1,  1832,  the  church  reported  155  members, 
which  included  the  addition  by  the  revival  of  1831;  which, 
namely,  forty-one,  being  deducted  would  leave  the  member- 
ship before  the  revival,  114.  In  January  1, 1866,  there  were 
132  members,  or  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  population.  The 
fruits  of  the  present  revival  will  increase  the  ratio  to  twenty 
per  cent. 

The  General  Association  has  published  the  statistics  of  the 
churches  for  thirty-five  years,  beginning  in  1832.  In  seven 
of  these  years  your  church  made  no  report ;  in  twenty-eight 
years  they  made  reports.  In  eleven  of  these  none  were  added 
by  profession ;  in  twenty-six  of  them  infants  were  baptized. 
In  the  twenty-eight  years  reported,  165  came  in  by  profession, 
or  six  a  year;  and  seventy-six  died,  or  three  a  year ;  the  pro- 
fessions being  double  the  deaths,  which  is  a  good  record.  In 
these  years  there  came  in  by  letter,  fifty-one ;  went  out  by  let- 
ter, fifty;  which  shows  that  the  church  does  not  diminish 
from  this  source.  Dividing  these  years  into  two  periods  of 
fourteen,  each,  we  fiiid  that  the  deaths  in  the  two  periods  are 


73 

nearly  equal,  thirty-seven  and  thirty-nine ;  as  well  as  the  in- 
fant baptisms,  fifty-seven  and  fifty-eight.  The  ratio  of  infants 
baptized  to  a  thousand  members,  is  thirty-one.  You  ought  to 
be  gratified  with  this  record  on  infant  baptism.  And  I  hope 
the  ratio  will  not  fall  during  the  administration  of  your  pres- 
ent pastor,  and  that  that  may  exceed  the  term  of  any  of  his 
predecessors. 


75 


APPEISTDIX. 

PROCEEDINGS  AND  ORDER  OF  EXERCISES. 


Some  time  in  the  year  1865  the  question  was  asked,  Shall  the  cel- 
ebration of  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  formation 
of  the  Church  in  Columbia  be  observed  ?  A  general  public  sentiment 
seemed  to  answer — Yes.  This  event  was  to  occur  some  time  in  the 
year  1866,  the  precise  date  of  which  could  not  be  ascertained,  but  still 
no  special  action  was  taken  towards  the  furtherance  of  this  desire  until 
June  29th,  1866,  when  it  was  "voted  by  the  church  to  have  an  anni- 
versary celebration  the  present  year,  it  being  the  one  hundred  and 
fiftieth  year  since  the  organization  of  the  church  and  ecclesiastical 
society  in  this  place,"  and  at  the  same  time 

"Rev.  Frederick  D.  Avert, 

John  S.  Yeomans, 

William  B.  Little, 
Deac.  Chester  W.  Lyman,  and 

David  D.  Little, 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  make  preliminary  arrangements. 

Requests  were  also  made  to  Rev.  F.  D.  Avery  and  John  S.  Yeo- 
mans to  prepare  Historical  Papers  relating  to  the  early  history  of  the 
Church  and  Society. 

The  committee  of  arrangements  subsequently  met  and  fixed  upon 
the  24th  day  of  October  as  the  day  of  celebration.  They  also  decided 
to  have  a  general  collation,  .and  for  the  furtherance  of  this  object 
appointed 

William  H.  Yeomans, 

Silas  H.  Dewey, 

Henry  E.  Lyman, 

Daniel  T.  Fuller, 

Samuel  B.  West,  and 

James  P.   Little, 
a  committee  on  collation. 

They  also  appointed  Samuel  F.  West,  Esq.,  to  be  President  of 
the  day,  and  arranged  their  order  of  exercises. 


76 


ORDER  OF  EXERCISES. 

MORNING. 
Voluntary ;  Anthem, — Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow. 
Reading  of  Scriptures  bj  the  Pastor. 

HYMN. 

Tune^  Boylston. 

1.  Great  is  the  Lord  our  God, 

And  let  his  praise  be  great; 
He  makes  his  churches  his  abode, 
His  most  delightful  seat. 

2.  These  temples  of  his  grace, 

How  beautiful  they  stand  ! 

The  honors  of  our  native  place, 

And  bulwarks  of  our  land. 

3.  In  Zion  God  is  known, 

A  refuge  in  distress  : 
How  bright  hath  his  salvation  shone, 
Through  all  her  palaces ! 

4.  Oft  have  our  fathers  told, 

Our  eyes  have  often  seen, 
How  well  our  God  secures  the  fold. 
Where  his  own  sheep  have  been. 

5.  In  every  new  distress. 

We'll  to  his  house  repair. 
We'll  think  upon  his  wondrous  grace, 
And  seek  deliverance  there. 

Prayer  by  Rev.  S.  G.  Willaed,  of  WilHmantic. 

ANNIVERSARY    HYMN. 

Words  by  Doct.  O.  B.  Lyman,  of  Hartford. 
Tune,  Salome. 
1.  Since  this  fair  branch  from  yonder  vine. 
Was  plucked  and  planted  in  this  soil, 
And  since  was  built  this  holy  shrine, 

'Midst  earnest  prayer  and  praise  and  toil, 
One  hundred  fifty  years  have  fled ; 
The  fathers  sleep  now  with  the  dead. 


77 

2.  Great  God!  we  tread  these  courts  to-day, 

To  celebrate  that  hour  divine, 
"When  our  forefathers  led  the  way. 

To  plant  and  rear  this  precious  vine; 
This  vine  they  watered  with  their  tears, 
That  fruit  might  grow  in  future  years. 

3.  It  has  been  watched  and  pruned  and  kept, 

Through  God's  dear  children  until  now, 
Here  they  have  praised  and  prayed  and  wept. 

And  here  submissive  still  they  bow; 
Still  earnestly  they  press  their  suit, 
That  it  may  bear  much  precious  fruit. 

4.  Here  sinners  too  are  wont  to  cry 

For  mercy  to  our  father's  God, 
That  he  would  hear  them  from  on  high. 
And  stay  yet  his  avenging  rod ; 
-  Oh  God  of  Love  !  incline  thine  ear, 
The  suppliant's  earnest  prayer  to  hear. 

5.  And  as  the  years  roll  swiftly  on, 

To  make  complete  this  century  too, 
And  we  our  labors  shall  have  done. 

And  bid  the  scenes  of  earth  adieu. 
Still  may  this  branch,  this  precious  vine, 
Bear  for  our  children  fruit  divine. 

Reading  of  the  original  petition  of  the  people  to  be  set  off  a  society, 
by  James  P.  Little. 

Historical  Sketch, — The  Pastors  of  the  Church,  by  Rev.  F.  D. 
Avery. 

HYMN. 

Tune,  Exhortation. 

1.  Let  saints  below  in  concert  sing, 

"With  those  to  glory  gone : 
For  all  the  servants  of  our  King, 
In  earth  and  heaven  are  one. 

2.  One  family  we  dwell  in  him, 

One  church  above,  beneath, 
Though  now  divided  by  the  stream. 
The  narrow  stream  of  death : 
10 


78 

3.  One  army  of  the  living  God, 

To  his  command  we  bow  ; 
Part  of  the  host  have  crossed  the  flood, 
And  part  are  crossing  now. 

4.  Some  to  their  everlasting  home, 

This  solemn  moment  fly ; 
And  we  are  to  the  margin  come, 
And  soon  expect  to  die. 

5.  Lord  Jesus  be  our  constant  guide; 

And,  when  the  word  is  given, 
Bid  death's  cold  flood  its  waves  divide. 
And  land  us  safe  in  heaven. 

Historical  Paper, — Meeting  Houses,  by  J.  S.  Yeomans. 
Recess  to  partake  of  collation. 

AFTERNOON. 

Historical  Papers, — Education,  Music,  and  Miscellaneous,  by  J.  S. 
Yeomans. 

HTMN. 

Tune,  Bridgewater. 

1.  The  Saviour,  when  to  heaven  he  rose, 
In  splendid  triumph  o'er  his  foes, 
Scattered  his  gifts  on  men  below. 
And  wide  his  royal  bounties  flow. 

2.  Hence  sprung  the  apostles*  honored  name, 
Sacred  beyond  heroic  fame : 

In  lowlier  forms  to  bless  our  eyes, 
Pastors  from  hence,  and  teachers  rise. 

3.  So  shall  the  bright  succession  run. 
Through  the  last  courses  of  the  sun ; 
While  unborn  churches,  by  their  care. 
Shall  rise  and  flourish,  large  and  fair. 

4.  Jesus,  our  Lord,  their  hearts  shall  know, 
The  spring  whence  all  these  blessings  flow ; 
Pastors  and  people  shout  his  praise, 
Through  the  long  round  of  endless  days. 


i 


I 


79 

Ministers  raised  in  the  Parish,  by  Rev.  F.  D.  Avert. 

Address, — Reminiscences  of  Columbia,  by  Rev.  C.  Little,  of 
"Woodbury. 

Address,  by  Rev.  "W.  H.  Moore,  of  Berlin. 

HYMN. 

Tune,  Coronation. 

1.  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name ! 

Let  angels  prostrate  fall ; 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 

2.  Crown  him,  ye  martyrs  of  our  God, 

Who  from  his  altar  call ; 
Hail  him  who  saves  you  by  his  blood, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 

3.  Sinners,  whose  love  can  ne'er  forget, 

The  wormwood  and  the  gall, — 
Go,  spread  your  trophies  at  his  feet. 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 

4.  Let  every  kindred,  every  tribe. 

On  this  terrestrial  ball. 
To  him  all  majesty  ascribe. 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 

Historical  Papers, — The  Deacons, — Moor's  Lidian  Charity  School, 
by  Rev.  F.  D.  Avery. 

Voluntary ;  Anthem, — Before  Jehovah's  awful  throne. 

Poems,  by  Doctor  O.  B.  Lyman,  of  Hartford. 

Remarks  by  Rev.  Mr.  Pike,  of  Marlborough. 

Remarks,  by  Rev.  S.  G.  Willard,  of  Willimantic,  and  Rev.  F. 
Williams,  of  Chaplin. 

Prayer,  by  Rev.  F.  Williams,  of  Chaplin. 

DOXOLOGY. 

Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow ! 
Praise  Him,  all  creatures  here  below ! 
Praise  Him  above,  ye  heavenly  host: 
Praise  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

BENEDICTION. 


80 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Church,  held  October  26th,  1866,  it  was  voted 
that  the  Exercises  of  the  Celebration  be  published,  and 
John  S.  Yeomans, 
Samuel  F.  West,  and 
Rev.  F.  D.  Avert, 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  superintend  the  publication. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Society,  held  October  27th,  1866, 
it  was  voted  that  the  Society  committee,  consisting  of 
AsHER  K.  Fuller, 
Horatio  W.  Little,  and 
John  A.  Hutchins, 
act  with  the  committee  appointed  by  the  Church  upon  the  matter  of 
the  publication. 


THE  COLLATION. 
Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  it  became  necessary  that  the 
Collation  should  be  dispensed  at  the  Town  Hall.  And  through  the 
untiring  energy  of  the  committee  whose  business  it  was  to  arrange 
this  portion  of  the  exercises,  it  was  made  one  of  the  attractions  of  the 
day.  This  committee  at  oue  of  their  meetings  appointed  a  sub-com- 
mittee to  assist  in  the  distribution  of  the  refreshments,  consisting  of 
the  following  named  persons : 

Charles  H.  Clark,  Miss  Sophia  C.  Yeomans, 

James  L.  Downer,  Miss  Emily  J.  Little, 

Mrs.  Silas  H.  Dewey,  Miss  Esther  Hutchins, 

Mrs.  Charles  H.  Clark,  Miss  Emily  A.  Wright, 

Mrs.  William  H.  Yeomans,         Miss  Amelia  J.  Fuller, 
Mrs.  Henry  G.  Woodworth,       Miss  Mary  D.  Little, 
Mrs.  Daniel  T.  Fuller,  Miss  Mary  Daniels. 

According  to  request,  at  an  early  hour  of  the  day  of  the  celebration, 
the  good  things,  requisite  to  sate  the  appetite,  began  to  flow  in  from 
all  parts  of  the  town,  which  continued  until  all  the  space  apportioned 
to  that  purpose  was  literally  filled  to  overflowing ;  so  that  the  commit- 
tee were  enabled  to  make  a  "  Bill  of  Fare,"  consisting  of  the  following : 
Cold  Tongue,  Baked  Lamb,  (stuffed,)  Sandwiches,  Wheat  Bread, 
Fruit  Cake,  Silver  Cake,  Cookies,  Apple  Pie,  Cream  Pie,  Apples, 
Sliced  Beef  Ham,  Cold  Chicken,  Biscuit,  Loaf  Cake,  Gold  Cake, 
Cup  Cakes,  Fried  Cakes,  Mince  Pie,  Corn  Starch  Pie,  Baked  Apples, 
Coffee. 


81       • 

Much  of  the  cake  was  beautifully  trimmed,  showing  the  artistic 
taste  of  the  ladies  of  1866.  The  tables  were  also  decorated  with 
bouquets  of  flowers.  As  the  hour  of  repast  arrived,  the  citizens  and 
strangers  repaired  to  the  hall,  preceded  by  the  President  and  Clergy- 
men present,  where  after  order  was  restored,  a  blessing  was  invoked 
by  Rev.  William  J.  Jennings,  of  North  Coventry,  and  the  wants  of 
the  inner  man  were  bountifully  supplied. 

The  fragments  remaining,  were  distributed  among  the  needy; 
thereby  filling  their  hearts  with  thankfulness,  that  it  was  put  into  the 
minds  of  the  people,  to  celebrate  the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniver- 
sary of  the  formation  of  the  Church  and  Society  of  Columbia. 


COPT  OF  ORIGINAL  PETITION  OF  THE  PEOPLE  TO  BE  SET 
OFF  A  SOCIETY. 

To  y®  inhabitants  of  Lebanon  the  humble  petition  of  us  whose 
Names  are  under  written  inhabiting  at  a  place  called  the  crank  and  at 
Hop  river  and  ajacent  to  y*  crank  with  some  others  that  have  a  right 
of  land  near  sd  Crank.  Humbly  showeth  that  whereas  the  providence 
of  God  who  bounds  our  habitations  hath  so  ordered  our  settlement  in 
the  world  so  remote  from  y®  publick  worship  of  God,  which  we  and 
ours  stand  in  great  need  of  w"  by  Reason  of  y^  Remoteness  of  the  place 
of  worship,  which  way  ever  we  goe,  that  there  are  but  few  of  our  fam- 
ilies can  constantly  attend  and  we  being  got  to  such  a  number  of  fami- 
leys  that  are  here  and  preparing  to  come  among  us  that  we  hope  that 
in  case  you  that  are  our  fathers,  breathren  &  Christian  friends  in  Leb- 
anon would  be  pleased  to  grant  us  with  y''  accommodation  of  part  of 
y'=  land  in  the  Township  of  Lebanon  w"  we  might  have  y°  worship  of 
God  set  up  among  us  in  some  short  time  w'=  we  hope,  we  greatly  desire 
&  shall  indeaver  after,  according  as  y"  providence  of  God  shall  lead  in 
that  matter ;  and  we  hope  and  are  confident  that  you  would  do  for  us 
w'  you  can  that  may  be  reasonable  for  to  incorage  &  promote  so  good 
a  work.  We  therefore  desire  and  intreat  you  who  are  our  fathers, 
brethren  and  Christian  friends  in  s''  Lebanon  to  consider  our  case  & 
do  what  you  can  conveniently  to  promote  such  a  good  work  &  sot  out 
to  us  for  y®  promoting  of  a  sociaty  heare,  as  much  of  your  Township 
as  may  be  incoueging  for  y°  same.  We  dont  here  pretend  to  be  our 
owne  carvers  but  desire  and  request  of  you  that  a  line  may  be  run 


82 

from  y"  North  Pond  the  westerly  line  of  y*  five  mile  to  y*  great  Cheast- 
nutt  tree  on  Cheastnutt  Hil,  which  is  the  Northerly  corner  of  y*  five 
mile ;  then  to  turn  eastward  in  the  line  of  y*  five  mile  to  y^  southarly 
branch  of  ten  mile  brook  so  down  by  y'  brook  as  the  brook  runs  to 
(the)  y'  eastward  part  of  y*^  town  bounds  to  be,  to  incorieg  the  above 
sd  sociaty,  but  in  case  you  canot  comply  with  y*  above  sd  line  takeing 
in  all  the  Land  in  y^  town  bounds  towards  hebron  &  windham  we  then 
desire  your  compliance,  in  any  other  line  that  you  may  se  cause  to 
afford  us  for  y*  incorieging  so  good  a  work ;  we  also  desire  and  crave 
your  holys  with  respect  of  gaining  in  to  y^  Township  that  land  lying 
between  Lebanon  bounds  &  Coventry  or  so  much  of  it  as  you  may 
judge  nesesary  for  to  obtain  y*  end  above  sd;  and  it  seems  needful  that 
there  be  speedy  care  taken  about  those  of  us  that  live  out  of  y"  bounds 
of  Lebanon  that  they  be  brought  into  the  bounds,  for  we  understand  in 
case  nothing  be  propounded  to  further  &  promote  y^  motion  above  sd, 
that  our  friends  at  Coventry  do  intend  to  petition  the  Generall  Court 
that  such  of  us  as  are  out  of  y*  bounds  of  Lebanon  might  be  annexed 
to  Coventry,  &  if  it  be  once  don  their  may  be  aboundance  of  more 
difficulty  in  bringing  about  the  designe  above  sd,  and  further,  seince  it 
is  so  that  we  or  y*  most  of  us  must  attend  it  &  we  be  thereby  forc*^  to 
do  it  we  pray  that  we  may  be  freed  from  paying  to  y*  ministery  in 
Lebanon ;  and  also  that  provided  we  are  incorieged  in  so  good  a  work 
as  y®  settling  of  a  sosiaty  heare  that  we  in  a  short  time  be  at  Charge 
towards  y*  settling  of  a  minister  heare  by  building,  breaking  up  of 
Land  &  forming  of  it  in  that  we  thereby  may  incorieg  a  minister  to 
settle  among  us ;  we  then  desire  our  publick  taxes  as  to  town  charges 
might  be  also  Released  to  us  all,  w,"  we  hope  you  will  Readaly  Grant 
to  us  your  Humble  petitioners ;  and  in  so  doing  you  will  greatly  oblige 
us  who  are  your  friends  &  Neighbours. 

Leb°,  february  ye  28th,  1714-15. 

Richard  Mason,  Josiah  Loomis,  Jr.,  Benjamin  Woodworth,  Charles 
Dowolf,  Josiah  Loomis,  Henry  Woodworth,  Benony  Clark,  Ebenezer 
Richardson,  Ezekiell  Woodworth,  Isaac  Tilden,  Joseph  Clark,  Ephraim 
Sprague,  Benj"  Woodworth,  Jr.,  Sam"  Wright,  John  Sweetland,  Josiah 
Lyman,  Thomas  Porter,  Ebenezer  Woodworth,  Joseph  Fowler, 
Ephraim  Tupper,  Caleb  Loomis,  Benja"  Small,  Nath"  Dewey,  Thomas 
Woodward. 


83 

April  the  26th,  1715,  at  a  Legal!  town  Meting  of  y*  inhabitance  of 
Lebanon  they  then  granted  the  petition  of  y^  people  at  y®  Crank  either 
to  be  a  sosiaty  by  themselves  or  a  township  according  as  the  honoured 
Courte  shall  see  cause  to  incorieg  either  for  a  sosiaty  or  a  township, 
allways  provided  that  y^  town  Reserve  to  y""  selves  all  y*  Right  of 
Land  in  sd  tract,  both  alottments  &  Comon  Right  as  to  y^,  for  y®  land 
&  also  exept  petitionning  for  an  adition  between  Coventry  &  Lebanon, 
and  also  provided  there  be  no  publick  taxes  Layd  on  y^  Land  untill 
y*  Land  be  improved  as  y®  Law  directs  &  also  whereas  the  petitioners 
to  h*  all  the  land  on  the  westerly  side  of  y*  five  mile  it  is  agreed  &  we 
do  alow  they  shall  goe  southwards  on  y*  west  side  of  y®  five  mile,  so 
far  as  Hebron  Road  from  Lebanon ;  likewise  provided  they  pay  pub- 
lick  taxes  to  y^  town  untill  they  have  liberty  &  incoriegement  from 
the  Generall  Courte  to  be  a  sosiaty  or  township  by  themselves,  the 
above  written  was  voted  by  the  town ;  at  the  same  time  Stephen  Til- 
den,  Joseph  Owen,  John  Huchison,  Joseph  Hutchinson,  Joseph  Owen, 
Jun.,  &  Moses  Owen,  all  entered  their  protest  against  the  above  sd 
vote. 


COPY  OF  A  RATE  BILL  FOR  THE  NORTH  PARISH  OF  LEBA- 
NON, (NOW  COLUMBIA,)  FOR  THE  YEAR   1741,  TO  PAY 
THE  SALARY  OF  REV.  ELEAZER  WHEELOCK. 

The  Sume  total  of  this  Reat  Bill  |  is  £380-16-09  made  for  the  De- 
fra  I  ing  the  Neserary  Charges  In  y*  North  |  Parish  in  Lebanon 
Atested  by  us  in  |  y®  year  1741  J 

EliakimTupper,)(.^^^^^ 
John  jNewcomb,  ) 

To  Joseph  Paine,  Collector  of  |  Raits  for  y®  North  Parish  in  |  Leb- 
anon this  are  to  order  you  |  to  Collect  and  Geather  this  Raite  |  of 
Each  man  his  Portion  as  is  set  |  Down  in  this  Reate  Bill  and  |  you 
are  to  Geather  it  by  y*  |  first  day  of  January  Next  |  and  you  ai-e  to 
Pay  it  unto  y*  |  Reved  M'  Eleazer  Wheelock  y*'  |  Sume  of  290  by 
y*  first  Day  of  |  January  next  and  y^  Rest  of  y"  |  money  you  are  to 
Pay  unto  M''  John  |  Sims  by  y"  Same  time  and  this  |  Shall  be  your 
order  December  \  y^  14  AD.  1741. 

Eliakim  Tupper,  )  ^^^.^^^ 
John  Newcomb,    ) 

The  Sum  total  of  this  Rate  bill  Except  y«  |  Dooms  if  I  Cast  Right 
is  £324-19-0  I  Test.        E.  Wheelock. 


84 


£   s.   d. 

Benj:  Fuler 

3  01  01 

Samuel  Allen 

4  02  11 

Amos  Fuller 

2 

05  09 

Robert  Avery 

1  19  10 

Benj:  Fuller,  Ju': 

1 

01  H 

Joshua  Allan,  Jur. 

2  01  08 

Amos  Fuller,  Jun' 

0 

16  08 

Joshua  Allen 

1  07  02 

Jeremiah  Futer 

0 

18  05 

John  Allen 

1  19  06 

Noah  FuUer 

0 

18  05 

Samu'  Allen,  Jun. 

0  17  06 

Henry  Glover 

3 

01  11 

Samu'  Buckengham 

4  14  06 

William  Gager 

2 

15  06 

Jeams  Brigs 

3  02  01 

Samuel  Guilds 

1 

15  10 

Jeams  Bill 

3  15  08 

John  Gibbs 

3 

05  05 

Samuel  Breuster 

3  01  03 

Henry  Glover,  Jun' 

1 

15  00 

Benj:  Ball 

1  17  05 

Samuel  Guilds,  Juner 

0 

19  09 

Saxton  Baly 

2  05  10 

Ebenezer  Gray,  Esqure 

0 

07  05 

Jedediah  Bill 

0  17  06 

Samuel  Hatchenson 

1 

01  08 

Philip  Bill 

3  01  00 

Nathanel  House 

2 

08  00 

Elisha  Bill 

0  18  05 

Israel  Guilds 

2 

07  00 

Ebenezer  Ball 

0  15  09 

Walter  Harris 

2 

09  00 

Joseph  Clark 

7  10  01 

Nathaniel  Hide 

0 

06  00 

Benony  Clark 

4  15  00 

Eleazer  Hutchenson 

4  07  08 

Nehemiah  Clason 

2  18  08 

Stephen  Hutchenson 

2 

09  01 

Beenj:  Collins 

4  18  00 

Jo"  hutchenson 

2 

00  00 

Solomon  Curtis 

3  02  10 

Tim:  Hutchenson 

2 

02  04 

Dudatus  Curtis 

0  15  09 

Abel  Hole  Brook 

1 

13  05 

Nathaniel  Curtis 

0  13  08 

Nathaniel  House,  Ju' 

2 

00  01 

Joen  Claseon 

1  05  15 

Stephen  hunt 

2 

02  09 

Nathan  Claseon 

0  18  05 

WiUim:  Hunt 

2 

17  07 

Danel  Church 

0  00  06 

John  house 

1 

14  02 

Eleazer  Curtis 

0  18  05 

Samul  House 

1 

01  06 

John  Dogit 

3  09  02 

Gideon  House 

0 

15  09 

John  Damond 

2  05  11 

Nathanel  knap 

0 

07  00 

Henry  Dyre 

1  17  01 

Richard  Lyman 

2 

16  01 

Joseph  Davis 

1  14  01 

Josiah  Lyman 

3 

08  02 

Nathaniel  Dewey 

0  05  01 

Joseph  Loomis, 

1 

14  00 

Sam'  Dunham 

1  01  13 

Benony  Loomis 

1 

05  05 

Sam'  Dewey 

0  02  11 

Nathanel  Lomis 

1 

09  07 

John  Damond,  Jun"^ 

1  01  11 

Caleb  Loomis 

1 

14  05 

Jonathan  Dewey 

1  02  09 

Tomas  Lyman 

2 

03  01 

Joseph  Dewey 

1  14  09 

David  Lyman 

1 

07  09 

Moses  Dewey 

0  15  09 

John  Loomis 

0 

12  03 

Richard  English 

2  01  02 

Danel  Lee 

1 

10  08 

John  English 

1  01  00 

Ephraim  Loomis 

1 

01  00 

Ichabod  Maxfield 

1 

07  02 

Isaac  Merit 

1 

13  01 

Peter  mesusan 

0 

16  08 

Linsford  moiy 

2 

11  07 

,  John  Newcomb 

5 

11  02 

Samuel  Negus 

2 

06  05 

Eddy  Newcomb 

1 

06  03 

Josiah  Owen 

0 

19  03 

Thomas  Porter 

4 

18  00 

Joseph  Paine 

3 

16  02 

John  Porter 

3 

11  06 

Josiah  Phiny 

2 

17  11 

Jeams  Pinno 

3 

04  01 

Samuel  Porter 

2 

05  07 

Jeames  Pease 

2 

08  03 

Joseph  Pinno 

0 

18  05 

Samuel  Parker 

2 

13  02 

Joshua  Phinney 

1 

09  04 

William  Phinney 

1 

00  03 

John  Pitkin 

0 

05  07 

Israel  Post 

0 

12  03 

Phineas  Post 

3 

03  00 

Amos  Randal 

1 

14  10 

David  Royce 

1 

08  11 

mathew  Royce 

i 

18  09 

Epliraim  Sprague 

4 

04  11 

John  Sims 

4 

08  05 

John  SoUard 

3 

01  00 

Jolm  Swet  Land 

3 

17  11 

Pxmj:  Smaley 

5 

00  02 

John  Sims,  Junr. 

2 

08  08 

William  Sims 

2 

07  07 

Peleg  Spraug 

0 

18  05 

Perez  Sprang 

2 

00  08 

william  Swift 

2 

09  00 

Joseph  Smaley 

2 

00  03 

George  Sims 

1 

09  09 

J(jlin  Sprauge 

0 

02  10 

l>enj:  Swet  Land 

1 

02  09 

John  Sweet  Land,  Jun"" 

1 

08  02 

1                             11 

85 


Joseph  Swet  Land  2  12  02 

Elijah  Sprauge  1  15  11 

Jeams  Smalley  2  01  02 

Eliakim  Tupper  3  16  08 

Stephen  Tuttle  1  08  02 

Jeams  tuttle  0  19  08 

Elias  Tupper  1  03  08 

Ebenezer  Tomas  0  05  03 

Ezekel  Tomas  2  19  05 

William  Vallence  1  17  05 

Henry  woodward  4  05  09 

Nathanel  white  4  13  05 

Thomas  wooward  3  02  09 

Ebenezer  woodwarth  4  19  04 

Benj:  woodwarth  2  14  06 

Ichabod  woodworth  3  16  00 

Amos  woodwarth  2  03  04 

Ezekel  woodwarth  2  03  10 

Samuel  woodward  2  07  03 

Israel  woodward  3  19  09 

Jeams  Wright  2  07  00 

Thomas  white  1  04  02 

Noah  Webster  1  15  05 

Preserved  wright  2  04  03 

Ebenezer  woodwarth,  Jr.  1  01  00 

Nathanel  wright  1  11  00 

Ebenezer  wright  1  00  00 

Samuel  wright  2  04  06 

Benony  wright  1  02  09 

Henry  woodward,  Juner.  0  13  09 

Ebenezer  Richardson  4  16  01 

Youngs  0  03  07 

Noah  Dewey  1  19  01 
Philip  Bill  his  Doome 

Rate  for  Estate  not 

Given  in  0  03  00 
Captin  Buckengham  is 

Doomed  for  Plstate 

not  Given  hi  0  1111 


MEMBEES  OF  THE  OHUECH, 
Janxiary,  1867. 


Kev.  Frederick  D.  Avery,  ) 
Mrs.  Charlotte  M.  Avery,  \ 
"     Lucina  C.  Armstrong, 
"     Lucretia  B.  Avery, 
"     Sally  E.  Abell. 

Mrs.  Sophia  Barstow, 
Henry  W.  BueU,  > 

Mrs.  Nancy  Buell,         | 
"     Harriet  E.  Button, 
Charlotte  J.  Brown, 
Alice  L.  Brown, 
Fannie  W.  Bascom. 

William  ColKns,    > 

Mrs.  Roxana  Collins,    ^ 
Joseph  Clark,        7 

Mrs.  Margaret  Clark,  ]" 
"      Mary  Clark, 

Lyman  C.  Clark,  } 

Mrs.  Cynthia  Clark,      ^ 
Willard  B.  Clark,  } 

Mrs.  Lucy  F.  Clark,      ^ 
Charles  H.  Clark,      ) 

Mrs.  Caroline  O.  Clark,    y 
"     Clarissa  Clark, 
Samuel  A.  Collins, 
William  A.  Collins, 
Jane  A.  Collins,, 
Louisa  Chenery. 

Eleazer  Dewey, 
Dea.  Lorenzo  W.  Dewey,  ) 
Mrs.  Lucy  Dewey,  y 

Elmore  G.  Dewey,      } 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  C.  Dewey,  \ 

Silas  H.  Dewey, 
Mrs.  Nancy  M.  Dewey, 
"      Sarah  A.  Dewey, 

Catharine  A.  Dewey. 

Jonathan  C.  Fuller,  7 
Mrs.  Nancy  A.  Fuller,      f 

Charles  R.  Fuller, ) 
Mrs.  Sophia  Fuller,       \ 


Amasa  B.  Fuller,     \ 
Mrs.  Minerva  A.  Fuller,  y 

Alanson  H.  Fuller, ) 
Mrs.  Mary  L.  Fuller,       \ 

Asher  K.  Fuller,      7 
Mrs.  Caroline  A.  Fuller,  y 

George  B.  Fuller,  7 
Mrs.  Jane  E.  Fuller,      | 

Daniel  T.  Fuller,     ) 
Mrs.  M.  Amelia  Fuller,    ^ 
"      Naomi  Fuller, 

Gilbert  Fuller, 

Wealthy  Fuller, 

Orrilla  Fuller, 

Amelia  J.  Fuller, 

Ozro  D.  Fuller. 

Mrs.  Mindwell  Holbrook, 
"     Elizabeth  M.  Hunt, 
"      Nancy  Holbrook, 
"     Betsey  A.  Hunt, 
«      Sarah  B.  Hunt, 
"     Eliza  F.  Hutchins, 
"     Jane  Holbrook, 
"     Eliza  Hartson, 
"     EUzabeth  J.  Holbrook, 
Anson  Holbrook, 
Olivia  Holbrook, 
John  A.  Hutchins,  > 

Mrs.  Gertrude  M.  Hutchins,  \ 

Joseph  Hutchins, 
Mra.  Lucy  W.  Holt, 
Esther  Hutchins, 
Eliza  A.  Hutchins, 
Alice  M.  Holbrook, 
L.  Huldah  Holbrook, 
Ellen  E.  Holbrook, 
Lucy  J.  Holbrook. 

Shubael  S.  Ishara,  7 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Isham.      y 


Dea.  Benjamin  Lyman, 

"      Chester  W.  Lyman 
Mrs.  Cornelia  E.  Lyman 


87 


Mrs.  Sophia  Lyman, 
Mrs.  Nancy  Little, 

Norman  Little, 

Benjamin  W.  Lyman, 
Mrs.  Wealthy  Lit^e, 

Lydia  Lyman, 

Lucina  W.  Lyman, 

Samuel  Little, 

William  B.  Little,  > 
Mrs.  Harriet  P.  Little,  ( 

Horatio  W.  Little, 
Mrs.  Esther  E.  Little 


le,> 


David  D.  Little, 

Mrs.  Maria  J.  Little,  ^ 
Norman  P.  Little,  ) 

Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Little,  ^ 
Giles  Little,  ) 

Mrs.  Cynthia  A.  Little,  \ 
James  P.  Little, 
Emily  J.  Little, 
Hubert  Little, 
Myron  W.  Litde, 
Samuel  E.  Lyman,  > 

Mrs.  Fannie  C.  Lyman,  J 
Alfred  W.  Lyman,      ) 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  C.  Lyman,  ) 
Charlotte  H.  Little, 
Mary  D.  Little, 
Henry  E.  Lyman, 
Chester  B.  Lyman. 

Mrs.  Sally  Manley, 
"     Martha  G.  Mcintosh, 
George  W.  Morgan, 
Adelaide  M.  Morgan. 

Mrs.  Harriet  Nye. 

Mary  J.  Osborne. 

Mrs.  Saxsy  Perry, 
"      Clarissa  F.  Porter, 
Augustus  Post,    ) 

Mrs.  Betsey  G.  Post,  \ 
"      Harriet  J.  Pago, 

Dr.     Moses  H.  Perkins,  ? 

Mrs.  Jane  Perkins,        ) 


Albert  F.  Preston,  > 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Preston,   ^ 

Leandcr  Richardson,  ) 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Richardson,  ^ 

Erving  L.  Richardson, 

James  H.  Richardson,       ) 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  T.  Richardson,  J 

Elizur  F.  Reed,    ) 
Mrs.  Harriet  A.  Reed.  \ 

Samuel  Sawyer,  7 

Mrs.  Amanda  B.  Sawyer,  ) 
Clara  E.  Sawyer. 

Mrs.  Esther  P.  Tickner, 
Sarah  E.  Tucker. 

Lydia  West, 

George  Wright,      > 
Mrs.  Mersha  M.  Wright,  ^ 

Samuel  F.  West,      > 
Mrs.  Charlotte  P.  West,  \ 

Asahel  O.  Wright, ) 
Mrs.  Lovisa  Wright,        \ 

Madison  Woodward,      7 
Mrs.  Harriet  L.  Woodward,  ^ 

George  M.  Woodward,  > 
Mrs.  Emeline  E.Woodward,  ^ 

Warren  S.  Worth,  ) 
Mrs.  Mary  L.  Worth,      > 
"      Jerusha  C.  Williams, 

Emily  C  Williams, 

George  A.  Williams, 
Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Wood  worth, 

Mary  N.  West, 

Emily  A.  Wright. 

John  S.  Yeomans,     | 
'  Mrs.  Sophia  C.  Yeomans,  J 
Frederick  Yeomans,  > 
Mrs.  Janctte  Yeomans,      | 
"      Seba  Yeomans, 
"      Harriet  R.  Yeomans, 
Samuel  D.  Yeomans, 
Sophia  C.  Yeomans, 
L.  Maria  l^omans. 


CATALOGUE  OF 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  SOCIETY,  COLUMBIA, 

January  1,  1867. 


Henry  W.  Buell, 
Albert  Brown, 
William  Collins, 
Orren  Clark, 
Chester  Clark, 
Joseph  Clark, 
Lyman  C.  Clark, 
Willard  B.  Clark, 
Charles  H.  Clark, 
Lorenzo  W.  Dewey, 
Eleazer  Dewey, 
Elmore  G.  Dewey, 
Silas  H.  Dewey, 
Amasa  B.  Fuller, 
Alanson  H.  Fuller, 
Daniel  T.  Fuller, 
Asher  K.  Fuller, 
Charles  R.  Fuller, 
George  B.  Fuller, 
Simon  Hunt, 
Amasa  A.  Hunt, 
Anson  Holbrook, 
Silas  A.  HoMkrook, 
Charles  Holbrook, 
John  A.  Hutchins, 
Shubael  S.  Isham, 


Benjamin  Lyman, 
Chester  W.  Ljnnan, 
Alfred  W.  Lyman, 
Samuel  E.  Lyman, 
Henry  E.  Lyman, 
William  B.  Little, 
Giles  Little, 
Norman  Little, 
David  D.  Little, 
James  P.  Little, 
Horatio  W.  Little, 
Samuel  Little, 
Norman  P.  Little, 
George  W.  Morgan, 
Albert  F.  Preston, 
James  H.  Richardson, 
Leander  Richardson, 
Samuel  Sawyer, 
Andrew  P,  Utley, 
Samuel  F.  West, 
Madison  Woodward, 
George  Wright, 
Asahel  O.  Wright, 
George  M.  Woodward, 
Samuel  B.  West, 
John  S.  Yeomans. 


89 


THE  FOLLOWING  TABLE  HAS  BEEN  PUKNISHED  BY  REV. 
MR.  MOORE. 


Year. 

Mem. 

Added  by 

Removed 

by 

In. 
Bap. 

Ben.  Cont. 

Prof. 

Let. 

Tot'l. 

Dth. 

Dis. 

Tot'l. 

1831 

155 

41 

1 

42 

6 

0 

6 

0 

1882 

149 

0 

0 

0 

4 

2 

6 

0 

1833 

146 

0 

2 

2 

3 

2 

5 

0 

1834 

142 

0 

3 

3 

6 

1 

7 

8 

1835 

138 

2 

1 

3 

7 

0 

7 

0 

1836 

140 

3 

1 

4 

2 

0 

2 

0 

1837 

138 

0 

0 

0 

0 

2 

2 

0 

1838 

132 

0 

1 

1 

5 

2 

7 

0 

1839 

122 

6 

0 

6 

1 

4 

5 

7 

$153.03 

1840 

121 

2 

1 

3 

2 

0 

2 

3 

1841 

138 

22 

3 

25 

4 

4 

8 

3 

228.14 

1842 

136 

6 

1 

7 

5 

2 

7 

8 

198.02 

1843 

137 

1 

4 

5 

4 

2 

6 

9 

188.04 

1844 

132 

1 

0 

1 

5 

2 

7 

5 

200.54 

1845 

137 

3 

6 

9 

0 

4 

4 

4 

326.91 

1846 

136 

0 

4 

4 

3 

2 

5 

5 

1847 

137 

0 

3 

3 

2 

0 

2 

2 

1848 

133 

0 

3 

3 

5 

2 

7 

3 

1849 

120 

0 

0 

0 

4 

3 

7 

3 

1850 

118 

0 

4 

4 

1 

4 

5 

3 

1851 

120 

7 

1 

8 

3 

3 

6 

4 

138.65 

1852 

118 

3 

2 

5 

1 

5 

6 

2 

151.98 

1853 

116 

1 

2 

3 

5 

0 

5 

6 

146.70 

1854 

139 

26 

0 

26 

3 

0 

3 

6 

145.00 

1855 

139 

0 

2 

2 

2 

0 

2 

12 

125.68 

1856 

132 

0 

0 

0 

4 

3 

7 

5 

156.47 

1857 

130 

0 

1 

1 

3 

0 

3 

6 

135.87 

1858 

143 

16 

1 

17 

0 

4 

4, 

5 

136.00 

1859 

140 

1 

0 

1 

3 

1 

4 

2 

142.00 

1860 

142 

3 

2 

5 

3 

1 

4 

4 

165.6G 

1861 

135 

0 

0 

0 

7 

0 

7 

3 

115.94 

1862 

117 

0 

0 

0 

3 

5 

8 

1 

143.65 

1863 

114 

0 

2 

2 

3 

3 

6 

2 

143.34 

1864 

113 

3 

7 

10 

1 

5 

6 

4 

174.82 

1865 

132 

22 

0 

22 

1 

2 

3 

3 

209.82 

1866 

130 

0 

3 

3 

5 

0 

5 

3 

221.12 

1867 

169 

36 

3 

39 

90 


LETTER  FROM  REV.  ASA  D.  SMITH,  D.  D.,  PRESIDENT  OF 
DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Dartmouth  College,  Hanovee,  N.  H.,  Oct.  22,  1866. 

Rev.  F.  D.  Avert  : 

Dear  Sir : 

I  very  much  regret  that  it  will  be  out  of  my 
power  to  be  present  at  the  approaching  anniversary  of  your  church. 
Had  I  known  of  the  occasion  somewhat  earlier,  the  case  might  have 
been  different ;  but  as  it  is,  engagements,  which  I  cannot  set  aside, 
will  keep  me  here. 

I  feel  the  power  of  the  associations  to  which  you  turn  my  thoughts. 
A  visit  to  the  place  where  sprung  into  being  Dartmouth  College, 
would  be  like  tracing  the  source  of  some  beautiful,  fertilizing  river  to 
its  source  among  the  distant  mountains.  It  would  give  me  a  new 
impression  of  the  great  issues  which  may  come  from  small  beginnings. 
I  should  have  a  new  impulse  in  my  woi'k,  a  fresh  assurance  that  the 
same  good  Providence  which  has  guided  this  Institution  from  the 
first,  will  make  its  future  worthy  of  its  noble  past.  I  could  add  little 
to  the  interest  of  the  occasion,  but  I  esteem  it  a  loss  to  myself  that  I 
cannot  be  with  you. 

Accept  my  thanks  for  the  courtesy  of  your  letter,  and  believe  me, 
Yours,  very  fraternally  and  truly, 

ASA  D.  SMITH. 


LETTER  FROM  GOVERNOR  BUCKENGnAM. 

Norwich,  Conn.,  Oct.  19,  1866. 

Rev.  F.  D.  Avery,  Columbia : 

My  Deal-  Sir : 

I  thank  you  for  your  invitation  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  celebration  of  the  150th  Anniversary  of  your  church,  and 
should  accept  the  same,  if  I  had  not  an  engagement  which  will  detain 
me  nearly  all  of  next  week  in  New  York.  I  assure  you  that  I  feel 
a  deep  interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  history  and  prosperity  of 
Lebanon,  in  its  former  boundaries,  and  in  all  her  churches.  The 
good  seed  which  has  been  sown  for  a  century  and  a  half  has  produced 


91 

a  valuable  harvest  in  your  immediate  vicinity ;  but  I  doubt  not  that 
the  fruit  which  is  unseen,  and  that  which  has  matured  in  other  parts 
of  our  country,  is  vastly  richer  than  that  which  is  seen. 
With  high  regard, 

I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  A.  BUCKINGHAM. 


LETTEE  FROM  REV.  DANIEL  HUNT,  POMFRET,  CONN. 

Rev.  F.  D.  AvEEY : 

Dear  Brother : 

I  return  my  hearty  thanks  to  you  and  the  committee 
for  your  invitation  to  attend  the  approaching  anniversary  of  the  form- 
ation of  the  church  and  society  in  Columbia.  It  would  afford  me 
great  pleasure  to  be  present  on  the  occasion,  which  I  trust  will  be  one 
of  great  interest  and  satisfaction  to  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  that 
ancient  precinct  of  Lebanon,  "The  Crank."  The  early  history  of  the 
place  Avas  honorable.  Distinguished  men  dwelt  there.  Shining 
characters  were  born  and  reared  there,  and  went  forth  to  bless  the 
world  by  their  labors.  And  God  has  never  forgotten  his  church  in 
that  place,  though  it  has  often  been  in  great  affliction  and  peril.  Zion 
stands  and  rejoices  there  still,  and  the  spirit  of  Wheelock  and  Brock- 
way  lingers  within  the  gates,  which  is  always  a  comfort  for  me  to 
think  of. 

It  is  not  likely  that  I  can  be  present  on  the  occasion ;  or  if  such  a 
thing  should  be,  it  would  not  be  well  for  you  to  depend  on  me  for  any 
service;  for  I  am  nothing  now,  and,  as  you  know,  "exnihilo  nihil  fit." 

Yours  truly, 

D.  HUNT. 
PoMFRET,  July  18,  1866 


92 


NOTE  A. 

LETTER  OF  THE  PARISH  TO  REV.  E.  WHEELOCK,  D.  D.,  RELA- 
TING TO  THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  CHARITY  SCHOOL. 

"At  a  legal  and  full  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants,  legal  voters  of  the 
second  society  in  Lebanon,  [Now  Columbia,]  in  Connecticut,  held  in 
said  society  on  the  29th  day  of  June,  Anno  Domini  1767,  "We  made 
choice  of  Mr.  James  Pinneo  to  be  moderator  of  said  meeting,  and 
passed  the  following  votes,  nemine  confradicente. 

1.  That  we  desire  the  Indian  Charity  School  now  under  the  care  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Eleazer  Wheelock,  may  be  fixed  to  continue  in  this  soci- 
ety; provided  it  may  consist  with  the  interest  and  prosperity  of  said 
School. 

2.  That  as  we  have  a  large  and  convenient  house  for  public  and 
divine  Worship;  we  will  accommodate  the  members  of  said  school 
with  such  convenient  seats  in  said  house  as  we  shall  be  able. 

3.  That  the  following  letter  be  presented  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Eleazer 
Wheelock,  by  Messrs.  Israel  Woodward,  James  Pinneo,  and  Asahel 
Clark,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  this  society;  and  that  they  desire  him 
to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  same,  with  the  votes  foregoing,  to  the  Right 
Honorable  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  and  the  rest  of  those  Honorable 
and  Worthy  Gentlemen  in  England  who  have  condescended  to  patron- 
ize said  school ;  and  to  whom  the  establishment  of  the  same  is  com- 
mitted. 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  second  society  in  Lebanon  in  Connecticut  to 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Eleazer  Wheelock,  Pastor  of  said  society. 
Rev.  and  dear  Pastor, 

As  you  are  witness  to  our  past  care  and  concern  for  the  success  of 
your  most  pious  and  charitable  undei'taking  in  favor  of  the  poor  per- 
ishing Indians  on  this  continent,  we  are  confident  you  will  not  be  dis- 
pleased at  our  addressing  you  on  this  occasion ;  but  that  you  would 
rather  think  it  strange  if  we  should  altogether  hold  our  peace  at  such 
a  time  as  this ;  when  we  understand  it  is  still  in  doubt  both  with  your 
self  and  Friends  where  to  fix  your  school ;  whether  at  Albany  or  more 
remote  among  the  Indian  Tribes,  in  this  society  whei-e  it  was  first 
planted,  or  in  some  other  part  of  this  colony  proposed  for  its  accom- 
modation. 

We  have  some  of  us  heard  most  of  the  arguments  offered  for  its  re- 
moval, and  however  plausable  they  appear  wo  are  not  at  all  convinced 


98 

of  their  force,  or  that  it  is  expedient,  every  thing  considered,  it  should 
be  removed,  nor  do  we  think  we  have  great  reason  to  fear  the  event, 
only  we  would  not  be  wanting  as  to  our  duty  in  giving  such  hints  in 
favor  of  its  continuance  here  as  naturally  occur  to  our  minds,  for  we 
have  that  confidence  in  you  and  the  friends  of  the  desire,  that  you  will 
hot  be  easily  carried  away  with  Appearances :  but  will  critically  ob- 
serve the  secret  springs  of  those  generous  offers,  made  in  one  place 
and  another,  (some  of  which  are  beyond  what  we  can  pretend  to,) 
whether  some  prospect  of  private  emolument  be  not  at  the  bottom;  or 
whether  they  will  finally  prove  more  kind  to  your  pious  institution  as 
such  considered,  (whatever  their  pretenses  may  be,)  than  ever  have 
been  or  at  present  appear  to  be  to  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom  in  gen- 
eral. We  trust  this  institution  so  well  calculated  to  the  advancement 
of  its  interest  will  flourish  best  among  the  Redeemer's  friends;  and 
although  with  respect  to  ourselves  we  have  little  to  boast  as  to  friend- 
ship to  our  divine  Redeemer  or  his  interest,  yet  this  we  are  sure  of, 
that  he  has  been  very  kind  to  us,  in  times  past,  and  we  trust  has  made 
you  the  instrument  of  much  good  to  us,  and  to  lay  a  foundation  for  it  to 
succeeding  generations ;  we  humbly  hope  God  has  been  preparing  an 
habitation  for  himself  here,  and  has  said  of  it  this  is  my  resting  jilace, 
here  will  I  dwell  forever,  (not  because  they  deserved  it,)  but  because 
I  have  desired  it,  and  where  God  is  pleased  to  dwell,  under  his  influ- 
ence your  institution  (which  we  trust  is  of  him,)  may  Expect  to  live 
and  thrive.  We  desire  it  may  be  considered  that  this  is  its  birth 
place,  here  it  was  kindly  received,  and  nourished  when  no  other  door 
was  set  open  to  it — here  it  found  friends  when  almost  friendless,  yea 
when  despised  and  contemned  abroad — its  friends  are  now  increased 
here  as  well  as  elsewhere,  and  although  by  reason  of  our  poverty  and 
the  hardness  of  the  times,  our  subscriptions  are  small  compared  with 
what  some  others  may  boast.  Being  at  present  but  about  (X)810 
pounds  lawful  money  yet  there  are  here  some  other  privileges  which 
we  think  very  valuable  and  serviceable  to  the  design,  viz.  400  acres  of 
very  fertile  and  good  land,  about  forty  acres  of  which  are  under  im- 
provement, and  the  remainder  well  set  with  choice  timber  and  fuel, 
and  is  suitably  proportioned  for  the  various  branches  of  Husbandry 
which  will  much  accommodate  the  design  as  said  land  is  situated 
within  about  half  a  mile  of  our  Meeting  House,  and  may  be  purchased 
for  fifty  shillings  lawful  money  per  acre.  There  is  also  several  other 
small  parcels  of  land  suitably  situate  for  building  places  for  the  use  of 
the  school  to  be  sold  at  a  reasonable  rate.  We  have  also  a  beautiful 
building  place  for  said  school  within  a  few  rods  of  said  meeting  house, 
12 


94 

adjacent  to  which  is  a  large  and  pleasant  Green :  and  we  are  confident 
that  wood,  provisions  and  clothing,  &c.,  which  will  be  necessary  for 
the  school,  may  be  had  here  not  only  now,  but  in  future  years  at  as 
low  a  rate  as  in  any  place  in  the  colony,  or  in  any  other  place  where 
it  has  been  proposed  to  settle  your  school.  These  privileges  we  think 
are  valuable  and  worthy  your  consideration,  and  also  of  those  Honour- 
able and  worthy  Gentlemen  in  England  to  whom  you  have  committed 
the  design  of  the  affair,  and  from  the  friendly  disposition  which  has  so 
many  years  past  and  does  still  reign  in  our  breasts  towards  it.  We 
think  it  may  be  presumed  we  shall  from  time  to  time  be  ready  to  min- 
ister to  its  support  as  occasion  shall  require  and  our  circumstances 
permit.  We  take  the  liberty  further  to  observe  that  such  has  hitherto 
been  the  peace  and  good  order  (greatly  through  your  instrumentality,) 
obtaining  among  us  that  the  members  of  your  school  have  all  along 
been  as  free  from  temptations  to  any  vicious  courses  or  danger  of  fatal 
error  as  perhaps  might  be  expected  they  would  be  on  any  spot  of  this 
Universally  polluted  Globe. 

•  Here,  Dear  Sir,  your  school  has  flourished  remarkably.  It  has 
grown  apace ;  from  small  beginnings  how  very  considerable  it  has  be- 
come; an  evidence  that  the  soil  and  climate  suit  the  institution — if  you 
transplant  it  you  run  a  risk  of  stinting  its  growth,  perhaps  of  destroy- 
ing its  very  life,  or  at  least  of  changing  its  nature  and  missing  the 
pious  aim  you  have  all  along  had  in  view ;  a  danger  which  scarce  need 
to  be  hinted ;  as  you  are  sensible  it  has  been  the  common  fate  of  insti- 
tutions of  this  kind;  that  charitable  Donations  have  been  misapplied 
and  perverted  to  serve  purposes  very  far  from  or  contrary  to  those  the 
pious  donors  had  in  view;  such  is  the  subtilty  of  the  old  serpent  that 
he  will  turn  all  our  weapons  against  our  selves  if  possible.  Aware  of 
this,  you  have  all  along  appeared  to  decline  and  even  detest  all  such 
alliances  and  proposals  as  were  calculated  for,  or  seemed  to  promise 
any  private  emolument  to  your  self  or  your  friends.  This  we  trust  is 
still  your  prevailing  temper  and  rejoice  to  hear  that  your  friends  and 
those  who  are  intrusted  with  the  affair  in  England  are  exactly  in  the 
same  sentiments,  happy  presage  not  only  of  the  continuance  of  the  in- 
stitution itself  but  w^  hope  of  its  immutability  as  to  place.  One  thing 
more  we  beg  leave  to  mention,  (not  to  tire  your  patience  with  the 
many  that  occur,)  viz.  if  you  remove  the  school  from  us,  you  at  the 
same  time  take  away  our  Minister,  the  light  of  our  eyes  and  joy  of  our 
hearts,  under  whose  ministrations  we  have  sat  with  great  delight; 
whose  labors  have  been  so  acceptable  and  we  trust  profitable  for  a 
long  time;  must  then  our  Dear  and  Worthy  Pastor  and  his  pious  in- 


95 

stitution  go  from  us  together  ?  Alas  shall  we  be  deprived  of  both  in 
one  day?  We  are  sensible  that  we  have  abused  such  privileges  and 
have  forfeited  them ;  and  at  God's  bar  we  plead  guilty — we  pray  him 
to  give  us  repentance  and  reformation,  and  to  lengthen  out  our  Happy 
State ;  we  own  the  justice  of  God  in  so  heavy  losses,  if  they  must  be 
inflicted ;  and  even  in  the  removal  of  our  Candlestick  out  of  its  place, 
but  we  can't  bear  the  thought  that  you  our  Dear  Pastor  and  the  dear 
friends  to  your  pious  institution  should  become  the  Executioners  of 
such  a  Vengeance.  However  we  leave  the  matter  with  you,  and  are 
with  much  Duty  and  filial  regard  Dear  Sir,  Your  vei-y  humble  ser- 
vants or  rather  Obedient  Children. 

By  order  of  said  Society,  T  Israel  Wood-ward, 

•<  James  Pinneo, 


June  29th,  1767. 


(AsAHEL  Clark;,  Jr. 


NOTE  B* 

LETTER  RECOMMENDING  REV.  MR.  WHITAKER  IN  HIS 

EFFORTS  SOLICITING  SUBSCRIPTIONS  FOR  MOOR'S 

CHARITY  SCHOOL. 

Mr.  Wliitaker  was  a  man  of  fine  talents  and  prepossessing  appear- 
ance. He  had  manifested  great  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  Mr. 
Wheelock's  Indian  School  at  Lebanon,  and  in  the  welfare  of  the  Mo- 
hegan  Indians,  his  neighbors.  On  these  accounts  he  had  been  selected 
as  a  proper  person  to  accompany  Mr.  Occom  on  his  mission. 

They  carried  with  them  a  printed  book  containing  recommendations, 
and  an  exposition  of  the  state  of  Indian  Missions  in  North  America. 
Mr.  Whitaker's  recommendation  from  his  church  is  as  follows: 
The  Church  of  Christ  at  Chelsey,  in  Norwicli,  in  Conn:  in  New  Eng- 
land, to  all  the  Churches  of  Christ,  and  wliomsoever  it  may  concern, 
send  greeting: 

Whereas  it  has  pleased  God  in  his  Providence,  to  call  our  Rever- 
end and  worthy  Pastor,  Mr.  Nathaniel  Whitaker,  from  us  for  a  season, 
to  go  to  Europe,  to  solicit  charities  for  the  Indian  Charity  Sdiool, 
undei;  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Eleaz(;r  Wiicelock,  of  Lcljanon,  and  to 
promote  Christian  Knowledge  among  the  Indians  on  this  continent: 

*  By  permission  from  "  Caulkins'  History  of  Norwich. 


96 

We  do  unanimously  recommend  him,  the  said  Mr.  Whitaker  and 
his  services  to  all  the  Churches  and  people  of  God,  of  whatever  de- 
nomination, and  wheresoever  he  may  come,  as  a  faithful  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ,  whose  praise  is  in  the  gospel  through  the  churches; 
earnestly  requesting  brotherly  kindness  and  charity  may  be  extended 
towards  him  as  occasion  may  require ;  and  that  the  gi'and  and  impor- 
tant cause  in  w^hich  he  is  engaged,  may  be  forwarded  and  promoted 
by  all  the  lovers  of  truth. 

Wishing  grace,  mercy  and  truth  may  be  multiplied  to  you  and  the 
whole  Israel  of  God,  and  desiring  an  interest  in  your  prayers,  we  sub- 
scribe Yours  in  the  faith  and  fellowship  of  the  gospel, 

By  order  and  in  behalf)  Jonathan  Huntington, 

said  Church,  )  Isiah  Tiffany. 

Norwich,  Oct.  21  st,  1766. 

The  delegates  were  eminentl}'  successful  in  their  mission,  both  in 
England  and  Scotland,  and  collected  funds  amounting  nearly  to  ten 
thousand  pounds  sterling. 

The  following  letter,  written  by  Occom  from  London  to  his  daugh- 
ters at  home,  is  a  curious  example  of  Mohegan  ingenuity : 

My  dear  Mary  and  Esther — 

Perhaps  you  may  query  whether  I  am  well :  I  came  from  home 
well,  was  by  the  way  well,  got  over  well,  am  received  at  London  well, 
and  am  treated  extremely  well, — yea,  I  am  caress'd  too  well.  And 
do  you  pray  that  I  may  be  well ;  and  that  I  may  do  well,  and  in  Time 
return  Home  well.  And  I  hope  you  are  well,  and  wish  you  Avell,  and 
as  I  think  you  begun  well,  so  keep  on  well,  that  you  may  end  well, 
and  then  all  will  be  well. 

And  so  Farewell, 


O-W^^-^^  iPcce^-f^ 


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